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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-04-13 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 p.m. APRIL 13, 1993 MEMBERS PRESENT: Bill Lord, Pat Vagnoni, Dave Crowther, Beth Hall, Andrew Herring, Paul O'Connor, Mac Thayer MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Jenkins, Jim Fee, Jean Rydell, Andrew Montgomery STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, Janet Canton, Diana Hedges Mr. Kojetin indicated that the Chair Bill Jenkins and the Vice Chair Jim Fee would be unable to attend the Park Board meeting. Therefore, Mac Thayer was asked to chair the meeting since he has been on the Park Board the longest. He declined and asked Bill Lord to preside over the meeting. Bill Lord called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and asked for a motion to approve the April Minutes. Paul O'Connor MOVED TO APPROVE THE MARCH 9, 1993 MINUTES. Beth Hall SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED. Mr. Kojetin informed the Park Board that four of the skating rinks were closed the first part of February. The rest of the rinks remained open for four more weeks at which time the temperature was perfect for skating and the attendance was excellent. Mr. Kojetin noted that when you compare the 1991-1992 attendance to the 1992-1993 attendance there is a difference of approximately 10,000 skaters. The majority of this increase is from the last four weeks of the season so you can see the value of keeping the rinks open. However, this is dependent upon the weather. Mr. Kojetin stated that at this point the Park Board needs to look at the numbers and see if some of the rinks need to be closed or reopened. He indicated that this year the staff is two maintenance men short so the quality of the ice has not been as good as in the past. Mr. Kojetin then stated that if you have all the manpower needed, it would mean nothing if the weather conditions are not good. Mr. Kojetin asked the Park Board that if there is not participation at a rink, should it be closed. However, he also noted that it's hard to say if there will be a lot of kids in a certain area the following year. This is also something to consider. Mr. Kojetin reminded the Park Board of the group of residents from the Strachauer Park area who attended the Park Board meeting last fall because they were concerned over the fact that the park was going to be closed. He noted that they were told the situation would be evaluated after the season was over. Mr. Kojetin asked the Park Board how they felt now about the issue and if they should invite these people back to a Park Board meeting. Mr. O'Connor asked Mr. Kojetin if he received any negative comments because Strachauer Park was closed this season. Mr. Kojetin noted that he had not received any comments since the residents knew what the situation was for the current year. Mr. O'Connor then stated that he doesn't see any reason for raising the issue. Mr. Lord asked Mr. Kojetin if he is suggesting that, if we reopen Strachauer Park, do we have to close another park. Mr. Kojetin indicated no, that would not be the case. Mr. Lord commented that Strachauer Park would only have ice skating and there would be no hockey rink boards. Mr. Kojetin noted that is correct and therefore the maintenance would not be a big factor. Mr. Kojetin also noted that there was participation at York Park which only has a sheet of ice and there is no hockey rink or warming house. He also indicated that he received a comment about Heights Park being closed this year. Mr. Kojetin explained that people are generally concerned about the rinks through Christmas vacation. After that the people who really skate are the hockey players and family weekend skaters. Mr. Kojetin also stated that Centennial Lakes is a popular family skating area. This year on the weekends there were as many as 1,000 to 3,000 people there. Mr. Kojetin stressed the fact that we need to take a close look at the rinks in case we need to cut back in the budget in the future. In some cases we have spent a lot of money and not had a lot of participation. Ms. Vagnoni asked if it would be feasible to use Strachauer Park next year and not Walnut Ridge. It was noted that Walnut Ridge did have quite a few people using the park and it is one that should not be closed. Mr. Lord indicated that since a warming house is already at Strachauer Park, maybe the rink should be opened so we can be as flexible as possible for the kids in the neighborhood. Mr. Lord asked how many people signed the petition. It was noted there were quite a few. Mr. Lord then suggested that Strachauer Park be opened for one year on a test basis and see if we get the participation. Mr. Herring asked if the Park Board is comfortable with the support we received from the residents last year for us to reopen the rink, or should another petition be sent around. He felt the Park Board needs to be sure that the support is there prior to making this decision. Mr. O'Connor stated that he thought this was a budget issue and that was the reason it was closed. Mr. Kojetin indicated that was not the case, it was because there were only 283 people using the park in 1991-92. 2 Ms. Hall questioned if the park will be able to attract more skaters. Mr. Crowther stated that Cornelia School went from 679 skaters to 2199 skaters and thinks it can conceivably be done. Mr. Lord asked just how valid are the attendance numbers. It was noted they are not 100% reliable. Mr. Lord asked if a motion should be made on this issue. Mr. Kojetin stated that for right now he wanted to present the numbers to the Park Board and let them think about the issue. Ms. Vagnoni indicated that it might be interesting to see where the people from the Strachauer neighborhood went to skate this year. Mr. Kojetin indicated that he is working on a map showing where the people live in relation to Strachauer Park whose names were on the petition. Mr. Lord asked the Park Board if anyone is opposed to opening up Strachauer Park as long as it's financially feasible to do it as far as the budget is concerned. Mr. Herring asked what would this would mean as far as maintaining the other rinks. Mr. Kojetin noted that it means the staff will be spread a little thinner. A rink may only get one flood a night instead of two or three. Mr. Lord asked if eliminating York Park would help the situation. Mr. Kojetin noted that it might help some but York Park is not a real quality rink and it is a different crew that does the rink. Mr. Lord indicated to Mr. Kojetin that he should let the Park Board know at the next meeting what he feels is feasible. Mr. Kojetin noted that he will have a staff report ready and possibly some of the neighbors can attend the meeting. Mr. Herring asked what happened as far as weekends were concerned with maintenance. Mr. Kojetin noted that they flooded and swept on Saturdays and if there were any games scheduled on a Saturday, such as four man hockey or broomball, it wasn't flooded on Saturday but it was swept only on Sunday. A lot depended on the weather as far as what was done. Mr. Herring indicated he thought it was the weekend work that was going to be cut back. Mr. Kojetin noted that it was cut back. Mr. Herring asked if the reason was so that time and a half would not have to be paid to the employees. It was noted that is correct. Mr. Herring asked if there was any way that something could be changed if that was the case. Mr. Kojetin noted that because the maintenance men are union it would be very difficult to change their schedules. Mr. Herring asked Mr. Kojetin if he received any complaints about the ice. Mr. Kojetin noted nothing more than the usual, there was no set pattern of complaints. MWISWUMN 74 F376 ITZO)MIWNTW L4 im Mr. Kojetin stated that the Art Center is run by the Park and Recreation Department. Before the Art Center was established a board was selected to go out and do a study on having an Art Center in Edina. After the Art Center was completed the City Council felt that a Board should continue and they elected to have an appointed board so that the City Council could keep up on what was happening at the Art Center. The Art Center Board was established but the management and capital funding would be under the Park Board and Park and Recreation Department. 3 Ms. Hedges gave a report on the staff, classes, fundraising, finances, membership and exhibits that they are currently having at the Art Center. Ms. Hedges indicated that they just finished a very successful "Sweet 16" fundraiser. This fundraiser raised over $12,402.00 and was the second best major fundraiser that they have held. Ms. Hedges then went on to explain that they have started a new fundraiser called "Fireside Suppers". Approximately $3,000 has been raised doing this with very little effort from the Board. What they do is people host a dinner in their home for approximately 20 people and the cost is $25 to $50 per person. Ms. Hedges also explained that there was a wine and cheese reception at the Art Center, before the dinners in private homes, at which time people shopped in the gift shop. Sales that day were $600 - $700 which is triple what they had ever been. She noted they finished ahead of last year in the gift shop sales. Ms. Hedges stated that last year, however, was a rough year and they ended up in the red. This year, however, they are up about $4,000 in class enrollment. Ms. Hedges indicated that in six years the Art Center has gone from 1600 students to more than 4,000 students. She also stated that the Edina Art Center is the largest Art Center as far as numbers go. Minnetonka's building although has 24,000 square feet and Edina has 5,000 to 6,000 square feet. She also indicated that Edina has 1,000 more students than Minnetonka. Ms. Hedges explained that she gets together with the other art centers every couple of months to exchange notes. There are approximately 10 other art centers in the Twin City area. Ms. Hedges noted that Burnsville has a cancellation rate due to insufficient enrollment of 508 to 608 where Edina's cancellation rate is more like 108 to 158. Ms. Hedges indicated that right now the student show is the exhibit that is going on and it is a great exhibit. This exhibit gives you a sampling of what the students are doing. The classes run approximately 1/3 children and 2/3 adult. Mr. Herring asked what percentage of the people are residents and non- residents. Ms. Hedges indicated that she has not looked at that in awhile but it is approximately 808 residents and 208 non-residents. There are a lot of people coming from all over to the Edina Art Center. Mr. Kojetin noted that it's difficult to balance the Art Center's budget, but Diana does an excellent job. He noted that the Art Center depends on a lot of special events. Approximately $20,000 needs to be raised in outside special events and donations. Mr. Kojetin pointed out that Diana is the only full-time employee of the Art Center all of the rest are part-time. Mr. Kojetin then noted that the instructors are contract employees and there are approximately 50 of them that are used. Mr. Keprios noted that it is nice how the Art Center caters to all ages and abilities. He pointed out that the adaptive recreation program uses the Art Center quite a bit. 4 Ms. Hedges pointed out how much surrounding cities contribute to their art centers. She noted that Bloomington contributes $65,000 to the Fine Arts Council of which a portion goes to the Bloomington Art Center. She indicated that Owatonna gives $40,000 - $50,000 and Rochester gives $53,000. These amounts are above and beyond what the Art Center makes. Ms. Hedges did point out however that these places do have drama and music where the Edina Art Center is only visual. Ms. Hedges indicated that the Art Center is setting up tours in which they will also make money. She noted that a group will be going to France in September of 1994 for an art appreciation tour. She indicated that they charge $100 above the price which goes to the Edina Art Center. She also indicated that in a couple of weeks they will be going to New Mexico and have raised $1,000 for that trip. Ms. Hedges indicated that the mailing list is approximately 4,500. She then indicated that there are approximately 544 members and this number is steadily going up. It has gone up 70% since 1986. The Park Board thanked Ms. Hedges for her report. Mr. Kojetin noted that Bill Jenkins had wanted to say a few words about the Board/Commission Meeting. Mr. Keprios gave a quick report on the softball season. He noted that the season will begin on May 3rd. Mr. Keprios explained that he has 21 teams that registered late and are on the waiting list. There are 122 teams in the adult softball program. Mr. Keprios noted that there are a few non-resident teams that are registered because he needed to fill in a few voids to balance out the schedules. Mr. Keprios handed out copies of an aerial photograph of the Cornelia School Softball Field. He explained that he will be handing this out at his Adult Softball Manager's meeting along with some other materials. Mr. Keprios indicated that the Peterson's who are questioning this softball field are concerned about the parking. He noted that it is a good concern and that the Public Works Department will have lines painted on both parking lots so more cars will fit. Mr. Keprios again expressed that he will be going over the whole parking issue at his manager's meeting. Mr. Keprios stated that he told the Peterson's he would use Cornelia School Park for 32 games this year. However, there are two holidays that fall on Mondays so he had to use another Friday and he also ran out of game fields. He then explained that he made an administrative decision to expand the Tuesday program and Monday Co-Rec program because the demand was so strong. He allowed six more teams than he originally promised on each of those nights. Therefore, he needed essentially five more dates in the schedule, which means there are 10 more games at the Cornelia School Park softball field to be played. Mr. Keprios indicated 5 that he could not find the Peterson's phone number to discuss this with them and let them know the situation and by the time he sent a letter it would have been too late. Therefore, he indicated he will be writing a letter to them explaining the situation. Mr. Herring stated that he thought the Peterson's were told there would only be softball played two nights a week at Cornelia School. Mr. Keprios noted that was the original plan. However, he has now worked the scheduled out so that adult softball will be played at Courtney Fields before the youth softball program begins. Therefore, the first game at Cornelia School will be on May 7th and then they will not play there again until June 2nd. The fields will then be heavily used in June and there will be no more games at Cornelia School Park after July 7th. Mr. Keprios indicated that it's a fairly short abbreviated time that Cornelia School will be used compared to the rest of the facilities. He noted that Highlands Park is in a highly residential area and they have double the number of games that Cornelia School Park has. Mr. Keprios indicated that he wanted the Park Board to be aware of this that Cornelia School Park will be used for five more dates than he originally promised to the Petersons. Mr. Keprios noted that the only other solution would be to schedule Yorktown or Todd which he would prefer not to do. He explained that it would cost a lot of money to bring those two fields up to game field standards and in addition to this there is no parking at Todd Park and the YMCA is renting the ball field at Yorktown Park on Thursdays. Mr. Keprios noted that he is trying to fulfil the Peterson's requests the best he can. He also noted he will be having the park ranger at Cornelia School Park to check if anyone is drinking. To address the resident's concerns about drinking in the Park, Mr. Keprios initiated a new "no drinking $100.00 deposit rule" in the adult softball program. Any registered adult softball team that is cited by the police or park ranger will forfeit their $100 no -drinking enforcement deposit check and could be ejected from league play. Mr. Keprios pointed out that teams will also be practicing at Cornelia School. There is no set limit to the number of practices. People can use the park when they want to for a practice as long as they have a reservation. Ms. Vagnoni asked if there are going to be additional trash receptacles at Cornelia School Park. Mr. Kojetin noted that they will be adding more trash receptacles. Mr. O'Connor stated to Mr. Keprios that you have to ask yourself the question how sensitive should you be to each one of these complaints. They are not your only customers, the teams are also customers. Mr. Keprios replied that you can't please everyone; You just can try to make the best decisions that best serve Edina residents. Mr. Kojetin indicated that there is another piece of property at Highland Park where the path runs across private property. Because the resident wants to fence his whole property, the fence would actually be 3 put across the path. Therefore, the location of the path was moved and the brush cleared out so that the path would go around the residents property. Mr. Kojetin also indicated that the Garnaas Property has placed no trespassing signs on each side of the path. It will let you walk down the path but you cannot walk off of the path. Mr. Kojetin indicated that during the summer they will also clear a new path that will go around the Garnaas property so there will be no concern that neighbors will be walking on private property. VII. OTHER A. Wooddale Park - Mr. Kojetin stated that an Edina family has collected $6,000 in memorial money for Philip Thomas Lewis Wesely, a child who died last year. They would like to donate this money to have a memorial placed at Wooddale Park. Mr. Kojetin noted that he has been working with an architect and with the family. The architect has made three concept plans for a memorial area at Wooddale Park. This memorial would include a memorial flagpole for the family and would also include a brick structure with the facing of the two original cornerstones from the Wooddale School. One cornerstone saying Wooddale School and the other cornerstone saying 1926. This memorial structure will actually be placed in the exact location of the southeast corner of the original Wooddale School. The parents and the family grew up in the Country Club area and went to Wooddale School. The plaques and brick that will be used, were saved when the school was torn down and Mr. Kojetin felt that something should be constructed to preserve part of the Wooddale School. Mr. Kojetin noted that he has been working with the Heritage Preservation Board and has showed them the plans and the concept of using original items from the Wooddale School. It is also indicated that on this structure would be two plaques one to indicate the history of the Wooddale School and the other plaque would give the outline of the Country Club area. The Country Club area and the Wooddale School are on the National Registry of historic places. Mr. Kojetin indicated that in the next month they will have more information on the project which will all be funded by the family. Mr. Kojetin also indicated that the family asked about possibly naming the field the Philip Wesely Field. Mr. Kojetin indicated to the family that would be something that would have to go before the Park Board and the City Council. B. Construction Sites - Mr. Kojetin noted that the golf course construction will start as soon as weather permits at both Normandale and Braemar. Both contractors have done an excellent job and are ahead of schedule. It is hopeful that the areas that have been interrupted on the original 18 holes will be sodded as soon as sod is available to be cut this spring. Hopefully by mid-May we will be well along in re- establishing some of the interrupted areas on the 18 hole course. It is anticipated we will open the Golf Course around April 15th, weather permitting. F I] Mr. Kojetin indicated that the pro shop is completed and it turned out very nice. He stated that the Park Board should see on their June Park Board Tour. Mr. Herring asked about the soccer fields at Creek Valley. Mr. Kojetin indicated that they are waiting for the weather. The Soccer Association has donated the money for the irrigation and as soon as they can get in there they will. It was noted that the Creek Valley soccer field will be seeded. C. CORNELIA PARK PLAN PLAYGROUND - Beth Hall asked about the playground equipment plan for Lake Cornelia Park. John Keprios explained that the Edina Federated Womens Club generously donated $1,000.00 to have a plan drawn up by a professional playground designer. The final details of the plan are still being adjusted, however, the plan's concept is very unique and exciting. The playground plan is named "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The plan's theme is based on the movie, "The Wizard of Oz," and incorporates the yellow brick road, the witches castle, emerald city and so on. The goal is to have a large portion of this project funded through donations, however, there are more drawings and information that needs to be gathered before potential donors are approached. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Mac Thayer MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:55 P.M. Andrew Herring SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED. L