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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-12-13 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 p.m. December 13, 1994 MEMBERS PRESENT: Andrew Herring, Andrew Montgomery, Beth Hall, Ernie Fischer, John Dovolis, Bill Jenkins, Bill Lord, Jim Fee MEMBERS ABSENT: Becky Bennett, Dave Crowther, Jean Rydell STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Julius I. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 8. 1994 MINUTES John Dovolis MOVED TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 8, 1994 PARK BOARD MINUTES. Andy Montgomery SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED. Mr. Montgomery brought up the Braemar tennis court issue from the last Park Board meeting. He asked Mr. Keprios if there was something we could have done different at Braemar to extend it's life. Mr. Montgomery noted that we got nailed but it seemed to him that it's normal on a cycle of 6 to 7 years that the courts have to be maintained. Mr. Keprios responded that if we had been on a more frequent maintenance schedule we could have extended its life but it would be hard to say by how much. Mr. Montgomery asked Mr. Keprios how you take care of the subsurface and Mr. Keprios indicated that you can't. He pointed out that the comment the gentleman made about Highlands tennis court being unstable is correct. It's just the nature of where the courts were placed. The courts were not built on a good subsurface. He stated that all you can do to correct it is tear it all out and put in a really deep subsurface for a stable base. Mr. Montgomery indicated to Mr. Keprios that he thinks he took an unfair beating for the maintenance of the tennis courts. Mr. Keprios stated that he has contacted a professional engineering firm to inspect each court and present a proposal to write specifications and act as project manager for tennis court rehabilitation. They will then give us their view of which courts need to be done first and approximately how much it's going to cost. Mr. Jenkins asked what this service will cost. Mr. Keprios indicated that he anticipates that it will cost approximately 10% to 12% of the total package to do whatever work needs to be done. Mr. Keprios stated that INSPEC, Inc. has visited all the tennis court sites and will tell us which courts should be done next. Mr. Herring asked what is their cost. Mr. Keprios indicated that it will cost roughly between 10% and 12% of what it will cost to have the work done by a contractor. Mr. Lord asked if they don't do anything then they won't get paid anything. Mr. Keprios indicated no, that usually the soft costs come in around 7% and they are more expensive. He noted that he does not have a II proposed dollar figure from the contractor at this time. Mr. Fee asked if these people give us an analysis on all of the courts and we don't do a thing, what is that going to cost us. Mr. Keprios explained that these people are essentially writing him a proposal. He then indicated to the Park Board that he will get them those costs and yes it is expensive, but he thinks it's worth the money. CORNELIA SCHOOL PARK PLAN - MIKE JULIUS Mike Julius indicated that a year ago he planted a seed in the Park Board's mind of what the Cornelia neighborhood was up to and what they had done. He noted that now, a year later, the success story continues to grow. He stated that he would like to talk about the successes, the revitalization that the community has installed in him and the PTA, the site counts and the momentum that that's gained. Mr. Julius explained a very aggressive three year plan that has been adopted as a school and as a community. He indicated that some of the things they are looking at doing involve the city's help. Mr. Julius stated that the community has come together with these ideas and what we have to do is see what the needs of the park might be and then try to go out and match sources of funding. Mr. Julius noted that what he is doing right now is planting seeds and saying this is what we've done to date with very little support. Mr. Julius gave a background of Cornelia School. He noted that it was built in 1959 and the park and those enhancements took place after the fact. He stated that in grades kindergarten through fifth grade there are 485 kids. Mr. Julius then handed out an outline of what they are planing on doing. The plan is called "Cornelia Branches Out" and shows the three phases. He noted that they developed a site plan and hired a landscape architect. He explained that since this was started four years ago over 425 trees have been planted on site. He stated that the contribution the Park Board made was they let them use their digger and auger and some of the foresters help, etc. Mr. Julius then stated that every Arbor Day they plant trees. One year they planted an excess of 200 trees. He explained that they also held their first community picnic and over 400 people attended. Mr. Julius indicated that what he is trying to say is that the momentum of what they've done to date has been fabulous. Mr. Julius then went on to explain that he is now trying to do other things because everyone keeps asking him what is going to be done next. He noted that the play structure is now 13 to 14 years old and doesn't comply with ADA and there are a lot of issues with that which face both the school and the city. Mr. Julius then indicated that there has also been some talk about having a joint powers agreement because of the property lines. Mr. Julius then went through the list of the different phases they would like to see done at Cornelia. Mr. Julius stated that part of the success of all of the planting that has been done is a few of the grades have planted their own garden each year. Mr. Julius pointed out that half of the things he has talked 2 about are not funded or are funded through contributions or in talking to people, such as the Rotary Club and Soccer Association. Mr. Julius indicated that what he has identified in working with Mr. Keprios is that there is a need and it's a funding issue. He noted that he is here saying that as a community these are things they would like to see happen. Mr. Julius explained that last year a couple of Park Board members indicated that they only heard a couple of negative things about Cornelia. There was a neighbor complaining there was too much softball and another neighbor didn't like what was going on. He stated that when they first planted trees there were complaints too. Mr. Julius noted that he's like a politician, you have to please your people that are complaining. He pointed out, however, that you are not going to please everyone. Mr. Julius noted that they are going to go ahead and commit to Phase I as a PTA as a site council. He noted that they've adopted phase I and they would like to have some assistance from the Park Board, fundraisers and contributions to help make Phase I happen because it can be done and it's not that expensive. Mr. Julius stated that tonight he is asking, and he doesn't have a dollar amount, for some financial commitment for the spring of 1995 to assist Cornelia in taking care of Phase I. Mr. Julius pointed out that he and Mr. Keprios are in agreement with everything under Phase I. However, they haven't agreed as to how much or how it will all occur. Mr. Julius noted that he would like to see everything happen within the next three years because then he is on to the jr. high with his kids. Mr. Fee asked Mr. Keprios what is in the budget for the long range planning of Cornelia School Park. Is there an amount allocated. Mr. Keprios indicated that each year the capital plan can be adjusted, however, there is no money specifically designated for a certain park. Mr. Fee asked if it would be a problem to have running water in the warming house. Mr. Keprios indicated that it can be done but it would be expensive. Mr. Keprios stated that a lot of the items under Phase I are easily attainable and are not all that expensive. Mr. Keprios pointed out that an important part that needs to be done in 1995 is to work through a joint powers agreement. There really is nothing in writing that explains who is responsible and liable for what on the two lands. However, as far as the development of the park Mr. Keprios thinks that in keeping with the spirit in the way it was developed initially it was done jointly and to keep that tradition makes a lot of sense. Because it is used as a public park and as school grounds, the two entities working together can get a lot accomplished. Mr. Keprios stated that it's great to have a neighborhood group like this willing to donate a lot of volunteer time and moneys toward a lot of these projects. Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Keprios if he thinks he can handle Phase I right now and he indicated yes. Mr. Julius stated that Phase I is probably in the $20,000 range and he doesn't know how much he will be able to raise. Mr. Julius pointed out that the community is going to raise part of it because if he doesn't have community involvement then it dies. They have to want it and they have to help with it. He noted that for the 3 most part everyone is willing to give a night. He also stated that a lot of dad's have installed some of the equipment. Mr. Julius stated that he has learned everyone likes doing this because it's a win, win situation and there are no losers. Mr. Jenkins indicated that he would like to commend Mr. Julius and the neighborhood for all of their hard work. He noted that the Park Board is completely with them and all of their ideas and plans. Mr. Jenkins stated that what he would like to do is ask that Mr. Keprios utilize the Park and Recreation Department capital funds to help facilitate those things for the 1994-1995 phase. Mr. Keprios indicated that he doesn't want to lose the momentum of the volunteers. He also pointed out that futuristically by 1996 we might realistically consider a bond issue and then we can address the issue of park shelters. Mr. Fischer asked Mr. Keprios if there are any joint powers agreements in place now. Mr. Keprios indicated that there are not. Mr. Fischer asked if it will help move this project along if we have one now. Mr. Fischer indicated that this is a good example of two segments of government working together which is all too few. Mr. Keprios indicated that's a good question because he doesn't know that he has the answer because he hasn't been through the process before. Mr. Herring asked if there is a joint powers agreement with the community center and Mr. Keprios indicated that it is under a lease which serves as a joint powers agreement with the Edina School District. Mr. Keprios indicated that it may be something we are going to eventually have to do. Mr. Fee asked if there are any other situations close to this. Mr. Keprios stated that there is a similar situation at Creek Valley. Mr. Fischer asked Mr. Keprios to rough out what kind of an agreement he thinks would be most appropriate and let him work with the School Board to decide if we need to go forward with it or not. Mr. Keprios indicated that he thinks there needs to be some language in there that if we have a city owned warming house on school property then who is responsible for paying the heat, lights, etc. and put in all of the same language that is spelled out on the Senior Center. Mr. Julius explained there is also a plan for the educational side of things. It is a three year plan which includes that each classroom will have a computer, etc. Mr. Julius thanked the Park Board for their time and noted that he will be back again in the future. III. FORESTRY REPORT Mr. Keprios stated that Mr. Horwath wrote a nice report. He then explained that Mr. Horwath is a contract employee and does a fabulous job for the city. Mr. Keprios pointed out that the city offers a lot of services for tree related issues and questions that a lot of other communities don't provide. He indicated that the City Council just approved a two year tree trimming project in the southeast corner of Edina. n IV. YOUTH ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION STAFF REPORT - JOHN KEPRIOS Mr. Jenkins indicated that this issue will be brought up at the January Park Board meeting. He stated that it will give everyone enough time to look at the nice staff report that was put together. V. OTHER A. Budget - Mr. Keprios indicated that the 1995 budget and fees and charges have been approved by the City Council as well as approval to reinstate the sixteenth (16th) park maintenance worker. B. Arneson Acres Park - Mr. Keprios indicated that he is forming a committee to finalize the development plans for Arneson Acres Park. He noted that it will include some members of the Garden Council, Park Maintenance Department Horticultural Specialist, Tim Zimmerman, a few interested neighbors in the area and himself. C. Braemar Tennis Courts - Mr. Keprios stated that Mr. Coonrod has now retracted his offer and it is no longer on the table. Mr. Montgomery asked if we are looking at an alternative use for the Braemar tennis facility. Mr. Keprios indicated that this issue will be brought up at the February Park Board meeting. Mr. Montgomery asked what happened to the sand volleyball concept. Mr. Montgomery noted that it seems to be coming on in a lot of communities and we only have one in the city. He also noted that he doesn't feel it should be at Lake Cornelia because there are too many young kids. Mr. Montgomery pointed out that it is the game, however, that the older kids want and it is very popular. Mr. Keprios indicated that, if that's what the Park Board wants, then you can make a recommendation, however, that's not what he is hearing from residents who live near the Braemar tennis courts. Mr. Lord asked if that land is going to be developed to expand the golf course on that side of the road. Mr. Herring indicated that he has received a lot of calls that people have been in the woods doing surveys. He also noted that they are complaining that they are getting a lot of double talk from Mr. Rosland and from Mr. Keprios. He pointed out that he's not saying that's true but he just wanted the Park Board to know what he has been hearing. Mr. Keprios stated that as far as he knows there are no plans to expand the golf course. Mr. Jenkins indicated that they are surveying the area for a possible expansion of the golf course. Mr. Herring asked who authorized that. It was noted that the Mayor and the City Council did. Mr. Herring asked if there was any record of that and it was noted there was not. Mr. Herring replied that it seems to be a mystery to him and Mr. Keprios. Mr. Keprios indicated that he wasn't aware that the area was being surveyed until after residents called with questions. Mr. Herring asked Mr. Jenkins what he knows about this. Mr. Jenkins indicated that he's been finding all of this out himself. Mr. Herring asked Mr. Jenkins if he's been getting the same calls and Mr. Jenkins indicated absolutely. Mr. Herring asked Mr. Keprios if he can request a report as to what's going on. Mr. Keprios indicated that he doesn't have anything to report on because it's above him. Mr. Herring asked who should he contact 5 about the issue. Mr. Lord noted that he should contact Mr. Rosland or the Mayor. Mr. Fischer asked Mr. Keprios if his staff is watching the development in the northwest corner that the City Council has been struggling with. Mr. Keprios indicated that it is a big issue. He noted that the park issue has been kicked around at that level already and he has been asked a few questions about the park plans. Mr. Keprios stated that he has voiced his opinion on what that park should be and the access it should have. Mr. Keprios indicated that there really is no plan that's going to show what that park is going to look like. Mr. Fischer asked if the Park Board should be more active or just let it take its course. Mr. Fee indicated that it's done now. Mr. Fischer indicated that he thought the characteristics of the park are not done. Mr. Keprios indicated that former Park Board Chairman and current Council Member, Jack Rice, has voiced some concerns about the park and that issue has been discussed and he doesn't know that there really is anything to do at this point. Mr. Keprios stated that he will give the Park Board a report on what he knows for the next meeting. VI. ADJOURNMENT Jim Fee MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:20 P.M. John Dovolis SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED.