HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-05-14 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD
7:30 p.m.
May 14, 1996
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jean Rydell, Beth Hall, Andrew Montgomery, Dave Crowther,
Andy Herring, Becky Bennett, Bill Jenkins, Mike Burley, Jim
Fee, John Dovolis
MEMBERS ABSENT: Frank Bennett
STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton
OTHERS PRESENT: Sara Lykken, Bill Lykken
I. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN
Mr. Keprios indicated that Mr. Montgomery is now the Chair of the Park
Board and that a Vice -Chair needs to be elected.
Jim Fee NOMINATED DAVE CROWTHER. Mr. Keprios indicated that he needs a
motion to close nominations. Jean Rydell MOVED TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS,
Mike Burley SECONDED. NOMINATIONS CLOSED. Jean Rydell MOVED TO APPROVE
DAVE CROWTHER AS VICE-CHAIRMAN, Jim Fee SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Montgomery indicated that he appreciates Mr. Jenkins leadership the
past three years and particularly his work on the referendum. He also
thanked Ms. Hall for working on the phone bank which was extremely
successful and noted whoever was responsible for the brochure did a
great job.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Andrew Montgomery MOVED THAT THE MARCH 12, 1996 MINUTES BE APPROVED.
Jean Rydell SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED.
III. LEWIS PARK BASKETBALL COURT
Mr. Keprios indicated that Sara and Bill Lykken are requesting the Park
Board's consideration of adding a basketball court to Lewis Park. Mr.
Keprios stated that the city owns and maintains eight basketball courts.
He noted that those are Heights, Normandale, Creek Valley, Strachauer,
Chowen, Todd, Countryside and Alden. He pointed out that the city
doesn't own any basketball courts in the southeast quadrant. Cornelia
School Park does have six new hoops on a fairly new surface, however,
those are built on school property and they serve the entire quadrant.
Mr. Keprios explained that there is enough real estate to put in a
basketball court east of the pathway and south of the playground
equipment at Lewis Park. However, it comes down to the issues of money,
future maintenance, and park usage. Is this the way the park should be
used. Mr. Keprios pointed out that in the past Mr. Burley has mentioned
that he would like to see a backstop put in at Lewis Park that would
function as both a multi -use area for softball or baseball when they are
not being used for soccer or football. However, if a basketball court
is put in that would pretty much eliminate that opportunity or
possibility. Mr. Keprios stated that the question is how do we want the
park to function and that is exactly why we have a Park Board to help us
wrestle with these issues and requests. Mr. Keprios pointed out that
there are going to be a lot of requests that have not been heard before
when we begin to complete the bond issue projects. People love their
parks and they are going to want to see a lot of things done and that's
to be expected, therefore, we are going to have to make some tough
decisions.
Mr. Crowther asked if there would be room by the tennis courts and Mr.
Keprios replied that they could possibly put one in there. It's a good
thought and something he hasn't considered.
Mr. Burley asked about putting a hoop up on the perimeter of the hockey
rink where we already have blacktop. Mr. Keprios replied that's a good
thought and there are some communities that do that. He noted that a
regulation size hockey rink is 85' wide by 200' long. Ms. Rydell asked
if you could put a basketball court across. Mr. Keprios explained that
communities do that and pointed out that they put up permanent hoops
width wise of a hockey rink and asphalt the inside. He noted that
possibly could be an answer, however, he doesn't know if that is what is
being requested.
Mr. Herring asked why did flag football play perpendicular to the way
Mr. Keprios has shown the fields. Mr. Keprios explained that they use
the west field in a perpendicular fashion to take advantage of the best
turf available, however, there is no reason they cannot have a north and
south field.
Mr. Jenkins asked how much will a basketball court cost and Mr. Keprios
replied that it would cost just over $10,000.
Mr. Fee asked Ms. Bennett and Mr. Burley how they feel about this since
they are neighbors of the park. Mr. Burley stated that he feels there
is nothing for the kids to utilize there except for the soccer fields.
He pointed out that his kids played baseball on Dewey Hill Road and used
the cul-de-sac down on Cahill and Dewey Hill Road which was not a good
spot to play. He noted that he has always felt there should be other
functions for pick up activities for kids where the field could be
utilized. Mr. Burley noted that he would love to have a half court
basketball with some kind of backstop so kids can play a pick up game
there. He pointed out that there is no where in that part of Edina for
kids to go play baseball.
Ms. Bennett indicated that she agrees with Mr. Burley that there is a
lot of green space which seems to be utilized by one sport in the spring
and summer and that being soccer. She noted it would be interesting to
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try to examine what we could do without taking up all of the green
space. Ms. Bennett pointed out that she drives by Countryside quite a
bit and sees that basketball court being used by a lot of older
teenagers and young adults. She stated that she is concerned that maybe
we don't have enough types of things for those residents. There are a
lot of young adults in that neighborhood. She noted that it would be
interesting to see if maybe we could do a half court over by the tennis
court and see if that would be feasible.
Mr. Lykken stated that what the Park Board has been talking about is
pretty much what they have in mind. He noted that they live next to the
park and are familiar with the park. He indicated that they also have
two children who use the park. Mr. Lykken explained that he has coached
all the various sports in Edina and he feels that the kids need to have
more of an opportunity to participate in activities without coaches and
formalized programming. He noted that when he walks around Lewis Park
in the winter time he sees kids playing hockey and figure skating and
doing things without coaches and organization which to him is exciting.
He pointed out that there are not very many sports where you see that
and he feels the non -organized aspects of sports are important for the
kids development and also for the development of the sport. Mr. Lykken
indicated that his daughter is playing traveling basketball and if she
is going to play in a pick up game she has to find someone who has a
driveway or has to get over to Countryside, which means crossing the
highway. At 12 years old they prefer she didn't do that. Mr. Lykken
noted that he feels confident that this basketball court would be
heavily utilized and there is parking available.
Mrs. Lykken noted that she has been involved in athletics for a long
time and has especially been watching the girls basketball program in
Edina. She indicated that it is one sport that has been undercounted
because it is an indoor winter sport. She stated that what she doesn't
see is girls participating in pick-up activities because she feels they
are a little intimidated by it. Mrs. Lykken indicated she feels this is
a situation where if you build it they will come. Mrs. Lykken pointed
out that for two years there were hardly any kids using the playground
equipment, however, since the equipment has been renovated there are
kids there all the time and she didn't realize how many kids live in the
area. Mrs. Lykken feels this would be a good investment.
Mr. Crowther asked Mr. Keprios if they have gone to the extent yet of
getting any neighborhood feedback on this issue. Mr. Crowther stated
that he feels this is a sensitive park in that we had the soccer issue
and had quite extensive input from the neighborhood. He noted he would
be uncomfortable doing anything to Lewis Park without at least getting
some feedback from the neighborhood to see what kind of reaction would
be received. He noted that he doesn't think it's fair to soccer to have
another group come in and say lets put a basketball hoop in here and
just go and put it in. He feels that doesn't show consistency or
equality.
Mr. Montgomery noted that the other
be talked about later and asked if
should this be part of the overall
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issue is the $5.5 million that will
this is an isolated situation or
picture of utilizing the $5.5
million. He questioned why should we be discussing this as a separate
issue as opposed to all of the facilities which are upgraded.
Mr. Fee asked Mr. Keprios how feasible is it to get input on an issue
like this from the neighbors and he replied that it is feasible and it
can be done. Mr. Fee pointed out that he is less concerned about
signatures because he knows you can get those. However, there are a lot
of senior citizens in the area who did show up on some other issues and
therefore would like to know what their viewpoint might be.
Mr. Burley noted that he feels this section of the community, those who
are not in the condominiums, are frustrated that this is strictly a
soccer or ice hockey area. He noted that in his opinion the park is
totally underutilized and needs something else there such as basketball
or baseball. He noted that it should not be a quick fix, it should be
part of the overall program. Also, he suggested that possibly the Boys
Basketball Association could pay for the whole thing.
Jim Fee MOVED THAT THIS PROJECT BE ADDED TO THE OVERALL MASTER PLAN
ENCOMPASSING THE 5.5 MILLION AND THAT IT BE CONSIDERED IN LOOKING AT
WHAT IS DONE TO LEWIS PARK. THEN HAVE STAFF COME BACK WITH THAT OR ANY
OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE NOW GOING TO BE COMING BEFORE US WITH STAFF'S
RECOMMENDATION SO WE CAN ADDRESS IT AT A FUTURE POINT IN TIME. John
Dovolis SECONDED THE MOTION.
Mr. Herring noted that he is not sure he understands what that means.
Mr. Fee explained that he is asking them to include it in the plan for
consideration because it is now not part of the plan. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Lykken noted that if there is anything further that they can do to
facilitate getting input they would be glad to do that.
Mr. Herring indicated to Mr. Keprios that we should notify or discuss
this with the Football and Soccer Associations. Mr. Keprios replied
they will do that.
Mr. Crowther noted that we should have a strategy set up on how to
handle all of these types of requests and Mr. Keprios replied that will
be discussed.
Mr. Fee noted that he does agree that Lewis Park could be better
utilized because there is a lot of land, it's beautiful property and
it's very accessible. Again, he personally thinks a basketball court
would get a tremendous amount of utilization from everyone.
Mr. MacHolda indicated that he has a couple of comments. His first is
that Lewis Park is not the only site where people have requested a
basketball court. He stated that as Mr. Keprios mentioned there will be
other amenities with other neighborhood parks who will come forward.
Therefore, it's nice to have everything evaluated before we make any
decisions. He does agree with Mr. Burley and Ms. Bennett that it would
be nice to offer more opportunities for all of the seasons at Lewis Park
because right now it seems like a big ice sheet in the winter time and
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in the summer time a big green space. However, Mr. Herring hit the nail
right on the head in saying before the Park Board makes a decision the
athletic associations, especially soccer, football and baseball need to
be consulted. The reason they come to mind is we have now passed a
general park bond referendum and a significant part of that is regrading
ballfields.
Mr. Keprios pointed out that there are a lot of things that we need to
look at before any decisions can be made.
IV. LAKE EDINA PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT
Mr. Keprios explained that Lake Edina Park used to have three softball
fields, a tennis court and playground equipment which have now all been
taken out for a golf course. He indicated that at the end of Kellogg
there is a cul-de-sac that will ultimately have an asphalt path that
leads right along the fence and goes up to a concrete ring. Mr. Kojetin
put in that concrete ring to designate where the playground equipment
will go when money is available to do it. Mr. Keprios indicated that he
has now received a petition from some of the residents that they do not
want playground equipment put in there. However, a resident came in and
said he does want playground equipment. Therefore, to resolve the issue
he has sent out 162 notices inviting people to a meeting to discuss the
issue. He noted that he would like to have one Park Board member attend
the meeting. He noted that they are not going to satisfy everyone,
however, it helps to get both sides of the issue in the same room to
come to some type of conclusion.
Mr. Crowther stated that to him the issue is if we don't put in
playground equipment, what do we do with that piece of property. The
City owns the property and the surrounding residents should not totally
dictate what is done because this area serves the whole quadrant. Mr.
Keprios indicated that some of the suggestions are they would like more
aesthetically pleasing landscaping in this area. One of their issues is
why do we need to put in playground equipment at Lake Edina Park when
there is great playground equipment at Cornelia School within four
blocks. Mr. Keprios indicated that this is not a bad argument. Mr.
Burley asked how much this would cost and he replied they are looking at
approximately $25,000 worth of equipment.
Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Keprios that as staff what do they think. Mr.
Keprios replied that he doesn't have a really strong feeling one way or
another.
Mr. Fee asked if there is a risk from the golf course and Mr. Keprios
stated that he will need to look into that, however, they are telling
him that there is a risk.
Mr. Herring noted to Mr. Keprios that he is absolutely on the right path
in letting the issue play itself out and see what happens. It was noted
that Dave Crowther will attend the meeting on May 22nd.
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V. PARK REFERENDA REVIEW
Mr. Keprios indicated that there was a tremendous show of support by the
community for their park system. It's fabulous that the community came
out in the numbers that they did. There was a 13% turnout to the polls
and out of those 77% voted yes for the bond issue and 61% voted yes for
the third sheet of ice, which is fantastic. He pointed out that the
last park -related bond issues passed by 127 votes and 45 votes and one
failed by only 105 votes.
Mr. Keprios stated that Mr. Montgomery mentioned earlier that it was a
great brochure. He noted that the person who deserves the credit for
the brochure is Dave Mills who unfortunately passed away the day they
final proofread it. Mr. Keprios indicated that he would like to plant a
tree in his honor and invite Mr. Mill's surviving immediate family to a
brief dedication ceremony.
Mr. Keprios explained that where they are headed is no different than
what was promised to the community all along. They are planning to
repair and replace what is broken first, all the pathways are going to
get done this year and that is priority one. Secondly, all of the
tennis courts are going to be brought up to speed so they are safe to
play on and all the hard surface courts that need it are going to be
rebuilt or resurfaced. The ballfield lighting will be done at the
Courtney ballfield complex. Also, they are going to asphalt Lewis Park
hockey rink as well as Normandale. The reason Normandale is being done
is they want to get those kids off the tennis courts because they are
ruining them. The hockey boards are going to be fixed at Cornelia
School Park plus we need to fix the lighting. Also, we need some
lighting replacements at Arden Park as well as some hockey boards need
to be replaced.
Mr. Keprios stated that Mr. MacHolda has a great playground plan for
Lake Cornelia Park that is just about ready to go out for bid. Also, we
will figure out Lake Edina Park and Weber Park which is a big one that
needs to be done soon. He noted that Golden Years Elementary School is
going to donate some money towards Weber Park's playground equipment
project, which is really nice. Ms. Hall pointed out that there is a
real active group in the Weber Park neighborhood and noted that a lot of
those people came in and did some calling on the bond issue.
Mr. Keprios noted that as Mr. MacHolda mentioned earlier they are going
to regrade quite a few ballfields this year. They are also going to do
some safety fencing, 7 sets of tennis courts, repair the roof at Creek
Valley and the Art Center, and replace all of the furnaces at the seven
shelter buildings. Also, start the design process for the replacement
of shelter buildings. Mr. Keprios indicated that there is a whole
laundry list of other miscellaneous things as well as building a third
rink that need to be done.
Mr. Herring asked when the third rink is expected to be done. Mr.
Keprios replied that the goal is to have it operational by May 1, 1997.
He indicated that the City also received $250,000 from the Mighty Ducks
program so we really now have $2.75 million to work with at the arena.
Mr. Herring asked what is going to be done with the extra money. Mr.
Keprios responded that they are going to design the footprint of the
building large enough to put in an olympic size sheet if they decide to
go that route. They need to see how the bids come in. The current
thinking is that they will build a regulation size rink but put in
refrigeration with caps on it to allow for expansion to an olympic size
rink at some future date if deemed necessary.
Mr. Burley asked why do we want an olympic size rink and Mr. Keprios
replied that is where most communities are going to, however, he is not
sold on the benefits of it. Mr. Jenkins pointed out that people who
have it are not necessarily sold on it either. Mr. Keprios stated that
it costs more to build and maintain. Mr. Montgomery asked if the money
can go as a reduction of the $250,000 and put that money elsewhere. Mr.
Keprios explained that the money has to be used on the rink only. Mr.
Montgomery asked if the $250,000 can put into the lighting at Braemar
instead of taking the lighting out of the $5.5 million. Mr. Keprios
stated that by law the matching grant money must be spent on the arena
project. However, we will have to see how the bids come in on the
Courtney Field lighting project before determining how much can be done.
Mr. Jenkins commented that he thinks the way we have to look at the
$250,000 is instead of having a 2.5 million dollar project we now have
to look at it as a 2.75 million dollar project.
Mr. Jenkins asked when the Braemar parking lot by the baseball fields
will be paved. Mr. Keprios explained that Mr. Rosland has put together
a southwest quadrant committee because it is such a complicated issue.
He noted that it's not just a matter of building a third rink. There
are wheels in motion to get more money from the state to put in a state
aid road which will then help us to offset some of the costs in the
parking lot renovation. Mr. Rosland also just informed him that we
received one million dollars to go forward with the training facility
for fire and police, which will also have an impact on the design of
that area. Mr. Fee asked about the environmental problems at the gun
range and Mr. Keprios noted that it will cost approximately $35,000,
which is nowhere near the expense that was originally expected.
Mr. Keprios pointed out that there are a lot of things that are going to
affect each other. The development of a training facility, the
development of the rink, the state aid road, the redevelopment of the
parking lot and exactly the design that the arena is going to take
shape. Also, what can we afford to do with the money that we have.
There are a lot of factors involved and we are just now starting to
interview architects. Mr. Keprios indicated that they are going to send
out notices and they are going to interview every architect that has
shown an interest in the project. He commented that right now they are
at the infancy stage.
Mr. Montgomery indicated that his concern is how is the $5.5 million
going to be split. He asked if all of the items that Mr. Keprios read
off are items that need to come out of the $5.5 million. He noted that
he is not sure that all 7 tennis courts need to be fixed. Mr.
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Montgomery stated that he would like to have input as a board on how the
$5.5 million is going to be spent. Mr. Keprios indicated that
construction will begin at the aquatic center the day they close the
doors at the end of the season.
Mr. Herring stated that he thinks the point Mr. Montgomery is making is
with the school bond referendum they were able to do more than they ever
expected because they hit the construction mark at a low point. He
indicated that he thinks Mr. Montgomery wants to know what our
priorities are for the $5.5 million. Are we relying strictly on Mr.
Keprios or do we have any input as Park Board members. Mr. Keprios
noted that he is not going to go off and spend money without the Park
Board's input. He indicated that the reason they are committed to what
they are going to do in 1996 is because that was promised to the
community throughout the entire Park Referendum information campaign.
Mr. Fee asked Mr. Keprios if next month the Park Board can receive a
list of what the priorities are. Mr. Keprios indicated that he has a
list for 1996, 1997 and 1998, however, he cannot guarantee that we are
going to do all of these things and in that order. Much of this will be
a learn as we go process. Mr. Fee noted that as other requests come in
they will have a better handle on the overall picture.
VI. OTHER
A. Edina Football and Baseball Association - Mr. Herring noted that he
just wanted to comment that the Edina Football Association really had
their act together this year. Also, it has been his experience that the
Baseball Association has their act together this year and that the Doyle
Clinic was a nice thing.
B. Thanks,- Mr. Keprios indicated he wanted to give a big thanks to
everyone who worked so hard on the bond referendum, especially Ms. Hall
who worked awfully hard in recruiting the volunteers.
C. Park Board Tour - Mr. Keprios asked the Park Board members if
there were any requests on where they would like to go. It was noted
they would like to see Lake Edina. The Park Board tour will begin at
7:00 p.m.
D. Inspection Tour - The Inspection Tour is scheduled for July 16th.
E. Van Valkenburg Park - Mr. Keprios indicated that he received a
call and they have to get started on the little playground site at Van
Valkenburg Park.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Dave Crowther MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:40 P.M. Bill Jenkins
SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED.