Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-12-12 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 p.m. December 12, 1995 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dave Crowther, John Dovolis, Jim Fee, Beth Hall, Andrew Montgomery, Jean Rydell, Becky Bennett, MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Jenkins, Mike Burley, Andrew Herring, Frank Bennett STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton, Susan Weigle OTHERS PRESENT: Marjorie Ruedy, Burton Ruedy, Jane Michael, Allen Carlson, Lori Carlson, Bob Kojetin, Charlotte Burrell, Gloria Cunningham, Lila Larson, Harold Larson, Helen Honmyhr, Catherine Mulholland, Carl Carlson I. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 14, 1995 MINUTES Jean Rydell MOVED TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 14, 1995 MINUTES. Beth Hall SECONDED THE MOTION. Minutes Approved. II. COMMUNITY INPUT TOWN MEETING (ALL PARKS INCLUDED) Mr. Keprios showed the slide presentation to the audience. Mr. Montgomery asked if anyone in the audience had any questions regarding the slide presentation or bond referendum. Jane Michael noted that the presentation is superb, however, she is interested in the number of kids who use the facilities because the slide presentation did not show the number of kids that are packed into the facilities. She pointed out that she has been using these facilities for the last 30 years and they are crowded. Mr. Keprios explained that there are statistics on all scheduled activities as well as all season tickets sold and daily admissions sold. However, they are not funded to monitor the unscheduled leisure use at the local parks. Mr. Keprios pointed out that in 1988 a survey was done regarding the park system and there are figures available on how often people use the parks. He noted that the survey shows approximately 90% of the people who live in the city at some point in a years time use the park system, which indicates they are heavily used. Al Carlson indicated that he was unable to attend the Todd Park meeting, however, it looks like a small price to pay for what they are getting and he is looking forward to it. Burt Ruedy indicated that he and his wife have adopted Todd Park and therefore spend a lot of time working at the park. He stated that he sees a lot of small children and their mothers using the facility which is in great need of improvement and he is very glad to see this undertaking. Mr. Keprios stated that a large section of the population from the Todd Park meeting felt strongly that they would like a shelter building and hockey rink. However, it was clear that a smaller section of the population indicated they would rather see pathways and a picnic shelter. Mr. Keprios pointed out that there was a lot of good input from all of the residents. He stated that clearly the message from the Todd Park area residents was they need new playground equipment, they need to update the tennis courts and they no longer want adult activities scheduled at the park, they would rather see youth activities scheduled there. Mr. Keprios explained that the staff's response was we would be happy to do that, however, there is safety concern with regards to scheduling youth vs. adults at the park. He noted that the adults are more safety conscious than are children when they are limited to just on street parking. Mr. Keprios also indicated that the City of Edina owns the house that is on park property at Todd Park and it will be coming down August 1, 1996. He noted that the current plan is to seed or sod the vacated area until we see what the outcome of the bond issue is and then possibly have a task force work on a plan that may include the addition of a parking lot. Mr. Montgomery asked Mr. Keprios to share with audience how many dollars the Park Department has available in the normal budget process. Mr. Keprios explained that in a years time the City Council allocates $180,000 a year for a capital plan for all 39 parks. However, the revenue facilities have to generate their own capital. They are in charge of that responsibility and some of them can not make it because they are also responsible to pay off their own operating expense and debt payment. Mr. Keprios informed the audience that if they have any further comments to send them to him in writing because he passes everything on to the Park Board and City Council. Mr. Dovolis indicated that he would like to commend the staff for the excellent job they are doing with the presentation of the slide show and the community meetings. He has heard nothing but positive input. Mr. Fee noted that everything has been well done. Mr. Keprios stated that a lot of credit is due to Dave Crowther who showed up at all of the meetings and was very helpful. He noted that he appreciated him taking the time to be at those meetings. 2 Mr. Montgomery asked if the general feeling has been all positive so far. Mr. Keprios answered that the majority have been much like we just heard, however, people obviously have special concerns within their own particular parks. III. ACTIVITY CENTER PROPOSAL Lila Larson handed out the proposal to the Park Board and noted that it is presented for the sole purpose of developing a strategy to facilitate the construction of a multi-purpose building to house the Edina Senior Center. Ms. Larson indicated that the Senior Center Advisory Council would like to "piggy back" a request for funds on the recently approved bond referendum. She noted that the Edina Senior Center Advisory Council proposes that funding in the amount of $2.5 million be set aside for the construction of a free-standing Senior Center building. She indicated that everything she was going to say is listed in the proposal. Ms. Larson explained that there are two pieces of property that the City already owns where they would like to possibly see a free standing Senior Center be built. She noted one is at Lake Cornelia Park and other is on York Avenue. Ms. Larson pointed out there are undoubtedly more than 9,000 senior citizens in Edina and the Senior Center has less than 1,500 paid members. Ms. Larson indicated there are multiple reasons for why they would like to have a free standing building much like other communities in the area do. Ms. Larson stated that a lot of the surrounding communities pay more attention to transportation to get their people to the center where Edina has no transportation. Ms. Larson noted that the current Senior Center has all the warmth and charm of an old high school building. Mr. Keprios indicated that he met with the Advisory Council last Wednesday and noted that it was a very positive discussion and he received some really good feedback. Mr. Keprios stated that Mr. Hughes, Assistant City Manger, is the chair of the YMCA Board and is warm to the thought of possibly a joint venture at the YMCA. He explained that the YMCA is refocusing their vision on the populations that they are targeting and one of which is seniors and the other target age group is the 10 to 14 year olds. He indicated that the YMCA may be interested in a possible joint venture at the Yorktown YMCA site. Mr. Keprios suggested that maybe we could work a deal to add on to their facility through some other creative funding that wouldn't necessarily have to involve this particular bond issue, however, a needs assessment should be done first. This is one possible option. Ms. Larson noted that she is sure there are other options. She explained how she recently attended a one day seminar on inter -generational dynamics and she has found out there are a lot of creative things we could be doing. Mr. Montgomery asked if this item can be "piggy backed" on the referendum 3 at this stage. Mr. Keprios replied that anything is possible, however, it is a little late in the game but if it is something you would like the City Council to consider you can recommend it to them. Mr. Montgomery asked Mr. Keprios where he would visualize a free standing Senior Center at Lake Cornelia. Mr. Keprios replied they are considering where the sand volleyball courts are now and that they would have to somewhat expand the parking lot. Mr. Montgomery asked what kind of a footprint is being talked about and Mr. Keprios indicated that they are currently talking about a 10,000 square foot facility. Currently the Senior Center has 7,040 square feet. Mr. Fee asked what would a facility like this cost and Mr. Keprios indicated that he doesn't think it would cost 2.5 million. We noted it would probably be approximately $100 a square foot, however, it also depends on the type of facility that is being built. Mr. Fee asked what's the implication of the five year lease with the Community Center. Mr. Keprios explained that part of the stipulation when they renew the lease for another five years beginning January 1, 2001 is they will charge us over $17,000 a year in today's dollars for the cost of maintenance and upkeep. Mr. Keprios stated that in all honesty that isn't reason enough to go out and build our own facility in a hurry. He indicated that it's actually a pretty good deal as far as operational expenses. Mr. Keprios pointed out that we would most definitely incur an awful lot more than that if we owned our own facility and had to maintain our own heat, light, power, janitor, etc. Ms. Bennett asked if at this point we aren't charged anything. Mr. Keprios indicated that the way the first contract was written is we would not pay anything. It was noted that the City used CDBG money to put in the elevator and the City of Edina put in an additional $100,000 to upgrade the third floor. He also pointed out that Community Education does use the Senior Center area for some of their programs. Mr. Montgomery asked if the Fire Department would take over the tennis court location at Yorktown Park and a Senior Center would take over the softball field location at Yorktown Park. Mr. Keprios stated that that is very likely. He indicated that this is actually an ideal site because it's where the majority of the senior population is located. However, as far as aesthetics, Lake Cornelia is a more beautiful site. Mr. Montgomery indicated that he has a problem identifying a 100 ft. by 100 ft. footprint in Lake Cornelia with all of the other things that are there. Ms. Michael asked the Park Board if they would embrace the concept rather than just table it or put it aside. Mr. Montgomery stated that he thinks the Park Board needs to digest this a little bit. He noted that at this time without a presentation he would assume that the Park Board would have to have some more information before it can be brought before the City Council for any kind of recommendation. Mr. Montgomery explained that he has been 4 on the Park Board for a while and the Senior Center is something where a lot of time has been spent trying to improve it. He noted that he thinks it's better now, but obviously it certainly can be even better when you compare us to what other communities have to offer. Ms. Michael asked if there is anything the Park Board would like the seniors to do as a group to help the Park Board better understand where we are coming from. Mr. Keprios pointed out that Jane Michael is a very active volunteer in that she serves on the Referendum Team appointed by the Mayor and also serves on the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. Mr. Crowther asked if they could get a better understanding of where the 2.5 million dollar figure came from. Ms. Larson noted it's a starting figure. Mr. Crowther asked what is going to come from the $2.5 million and how was the number arrived at. Ms. Larson indicated that right now it's strictly an estimate but she's hoping that it not only covers the facility but some of the basic furnishings. She noted that it could be a larger number or it could be a smaller number, she doesn't know what it's going to be. Mr. Keprios pointed out that it all depends on what everyone wants the facility to be in order to come up with a figure. He stated that there is obviously a lot of leg work that needs to be done and if the Park Board and City Council want to embrace this concept, he would be more than happy to do the necessary research. Ms. Bennett asked what are some of things that other communities have for their senior citizens. Ms. Larson indicated that her husband has been going around taking pictures of the free standing Senior Centers in the area. She noted that most of them are larger and more extensive than ours and the biggest thing they seem to have which Edina does not is transportation. Ms. Larson pointed out that you walk into any of these centers and they are swarming with people. She stated that at the Edina Senior Center they have two men who are usually at the pool table where you can hardly get on a pool table at Bloomington. Ms. Larson commented that what they do have is well done and that they couldn't ask for a better Director than Susan Weigle. Ms. Larson pointed out that, if it wasn't for Susan, the place would be awful. She stated that when you are up there alone the place is spooky. Ms. Larson also indicated that she recently had knee surgery and pointed out that it's a long way up to the Senior Center and that it has so many drawbacks. It was asked if Edina has some sort of transportation and Mr. Keprios indicated that we do have a senior bus, however, it is not used to transport people to the Senior Center. It's basically used to get people to their doctor appointments and the grocery store. Ms. Larson pointed out that the drivers are volunteer drivers. Mr. Fee asked Ms. Larson what they envision as far 5 as transportation, would they want to see the seniors picked up at their homes or at different locations. Ms. Larson replied that she's not real sure, however, she would think they would be picked up at home and have it work similar to the Metro Mobility program. Mr. Montgomery asked if most seniors live in a condo or in their own individual home. It was noted the majority of them are in their own homes. Charlotte Burrell indicated that she is also on the Senior Citizen Advisory Council and pointed out that the trend is they are trying to keep people out of nursing homes. Therefore, they are going to get more and more people coming to the senior centers and she feels we need to plan ahead because the senior population has really increased. Mr. Fee asked if the Park Board should get some sort of direction from the City Council as to possibly formulating a joint venture committee with the Park Board, seniors and whoever else they feel would be appropriate. Mr. Dovolis noted that he embraces the idea of having a joint venture with the seniors and Park Board so there is some discussion and we all know what we are talking about. Mr. Fee MOVED THAT WE GET INPUT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL AS TO WHAT TYPE OF DIRECTION THEY WOULD LIKE THE PARK BOARD, THE SENIOR CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND ANY OTHER APPROPRIATE GROUP TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITH RESPECT TO A MORE PERMANENT SENIOR FACILITY. John Dovolis SECONDED THE MOTION. Ms. Rydell explained that, when the Senior Center lost their lease on the high rise and had to find an alternative location, the City Council had limited options in determining where the Senior Center could be located. She noted that the Community Center was basically the only available spot at that time. Mr. Fee stated that he would recommend that the Park Board give the City Council the proposal from the Edina Senior Advisory Council and that they then give us some type of direction as to how we should proceed in reviewing alternatives. Mr. Dovolis asked Mr. Keprios if he would work with the senior citizens and see what other communities are doing and what other facilities are available to seniors in the surrounding communities. Mr. Fee indicated that he is sure the City Council will tell us to put a task force together which will have this type of information. Carl Carlson pointed out to the Park Board how vitally important the seniors are to the success of the bond issue. He noted that seniors are the voters who go out and vote and represent a rather high proportion of the voting population in all communities. He explained that he feels the success or C.1 failure of the bond issue depends a great deal on the seniors. Mr. Fee explained that the Park Board is in favor of helping the seniors, however, some direction is needed from the City Council because the Park Board is strictly an advisory body. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. IV. FORESTRY Mr. Dovolis indicated he had a question regarding the Forestry Department. He asked if the City of Edina does anything with injections to save trees. Mr. Keprios explained that where it's helpful for the prevention or transfer of Oak Wilt they have tried it. He noted that we have a contract with Kunde Tree Company and they will either use the vibrating plow or some injection, it's up to their professional recommendation. Mr. Dovolis stated that he thinks it's been proved over the years that it does help. IV. PARK BOND REFERENDA RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL Mr. Montgomery asked if there is any organized opposition to the referendum and Mr. Keprios indicated there is not at this time. Mr. Fee asked if there were any comments regarding the third hockey rink. Mr. Crowther indicated that to summarize what he heard at the meetings is there was almost no comment on it. He noted that a few of the older folks commented on the hockey portion of the referendum and their questions where generally probing at why don't these things make enough money to pay for themselves. He noted that generally people were in favor of it or didn't express an opinion. However, the bulk of the discussions were approximately 95% about the specific parks and what each park was going to get. Mr. Crowther pointed out that there is definitely a desire to have permanent restrooms as opposed to satellites. Also, everyone is concerned about parking in the neighborhood parks. Mr. Crowther also noted that everyone wants a hockey rink and are in favor of paving the hockey rinks so they have a place for in-line skating. Mr. Keprios indicated that another common question was how did we get to where we need to have to borrow money to replace worn infrastructure. Mr. Crowther explained that at the meetings people first wanted their own individual desires. However, they then looked at the bigger picture and said why don't we do a bigger referendum and do it right as opposed to skimping. They feel it's not going to all get done with the current dollars that are allocated. Also, there was a real concern about the maintenance and if we put all of this money in are we going to be sure that we maintain it. Mr. Crowther noted there were quite a few criticisms at all of the meetings about the overall maintenance of the parks. He indicated that they 7 had to explain to the people that we don't have the staff and money. He indicated that it's hard for people to buy into the deal and if they vote for more money they want to make sure that everything is going to get maintained. Also, people are concerned about how everything is going to get prioritized as to what gets done first, second, third etc. Mr. Fee asked what is the period of time on this. Mr. Keprios replied that he talked with the City Attorney and was told there is no law on the books that says you have a limited amount of time if you use "due diligence." In other words, if you can prove you are making progress and not using it to make money there is no law that governs that. However, Mr. Keprios noted that he hopes the job can get done in three years or less. Mr. Crowther asked if there was any way a senior center could be tied in the three sheet of ice at Braemar. Mr. Keprios indicated that probably not because it would be the furthest location from the majority of the senior population. Mr. Keprios indicated that he will be showing the slide show the School District administrative staff on Tuesday, January 9th because they have asked to see it. He noted that he will also be showing the slide show to the City Council on Tuesday, December 19th. Mr. Keprios stated that some of the things that people said at the meetings were if we don't get our requested additions, we are not voting for it. Mr. Dovolis noted that the phone calls he received basically indicated that we are not doing enough. Mr. Crowther explained that Mr. Keprios addressed this topic at the various meetings and when people asked why is it so bad, he asked them if they have ever been to a Truth -In -Taxation meeting. "Have you ever asked the City Council to increase your taxes so that we can improve the maintenance of our parks?" He stated that many people just don't understand the process. People seem to rely on staff to be their advocates for what is needed in the park system. Mr. Crowther pointed out that the Park Board could recommend to the City Council that we increase the amount, however, he doesn't have a clue what the number should be. However, there is no question that there is a solid group of people who would be in favor of doing more as opposed to less. Ms. Bennett indicated that it might be a mistake to not ask for more because we won't get a second chance for quite awhile. Mr. Dovolis indicated that the last one was 40 years ago. Mr. Crowther noted that out of the 4.9 million we may only get 4.6 million because all of the expenses have to come out of it. Mr. Keprios indicated that he just talked to the City Attorney and was told that if they approve the 4.9 million, the City Council has the authority to raise the issue another 2% El to pay for the expenses such as sale of the bonds and election costs. Mr. Montgomery stated that it seems to him that the Park Board feels that $4.9 million is slight and asked how that might be changed. Mr. Keprios indicated that his initial recommendation was slightly more than $5.3 million and the City Council decided long ago that their comfort zone at that time was $4.9 million. Mr. Fee noted if they change the amount from $4.9 million now that it's been published it may backfire. Mr. Crowther suggested that possibly the better message would be that we realize that $4.9 million is light, however, why don't we look at how we are going to up our ongoing dollars for maintenance so that we can keep everything up to standard. Mr. Dovolis indicated that money should be set aside a certain degree for improvements to parks and infrastructure of the parks. Mr. Fee explained that he has talked with the Mayor about that issue and he will attend one of the Park Board meetings to explain the City Council's philosophy on this. VI. OTHER A. University of Minnesota Grant - Mr. Keprios indicated that the University of Minnesota is going to be offering us a $19,000 grant to staff a person to work toward our turf management plan and further study it. He noted that person will make recommendations and set up test sites. Mr. Keprios explained that the grant will be coming in written form within the next few weeks for the City Council's approval and he will be passing that on to the Park Board and City Council when he receives it. B. Athletic Programs - Mr. Montgomery asked if all of the winter athletic programs are going along okay. It was noted that all is well and that Centennial Lakes opens for public skating on December 15th and the other 11 outdoor skating sites will be opening on December 16th. C. Dog Sled Rides - Mr. MacHolda stated that on December 26th at the Braemar Golf Course driving range there will be dog sled rides from 9:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. He indicated there were 80 tickets and it was noted that there are no more tickets available. D. Arena Ice Fees - Mr. Crowther thanked Mr. Keprios for sending the Park Board the information on the ice rates. He noted he was happy to see Edina is very much right in the ball park and the Park Board shouldn't waste time worrying about the rates when staff recommends them. He stated that staff does their homework and we should buy into that. Mr. Keprios thanked Mr. Crowther for the comment and replied that staff will do a better job next year in providing the Park Board with surveys pertaining to fees and charges. In addition, all Park and Recreation Department management staff will be present during adoption of fees and charges. OJ VII. ADJOURNMENT Dave Crowther MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:15 P.M. Jean Rydell SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED. 10