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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-09-10 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 p.m. September 10, 1991 MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Christianson, Beth Hall, Pat Vagnoni, Mac Thayer, James Fee, Chip Sour, Bill Jenkins, Andy Montgomery Jean Rydell, Paul O'Connor MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Lord STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, John Valliere, Janet Canton OTHERS PRESENT: Jenny Black, Roger Harold I. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 13 1991 MINUTES Jean Rydell MOVED TO APPROVE THE AUGUST 13, 1991•MINUTES. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED. II. NORMANDALE GOLF COURSE Mr. Christianson stated that at last month's Park Board meeting Ken Rosland gave a presentation to the Park Board regarding Normandale Golf Course. Mr. Rosland was going to be giving the same presentation to the surrounding neighborhood and to the Planning Commission. Mr. Rosland asked the Park Board at last months meeting to have a recommendation ready to give to the City Council at the September 23, 1991 City Council meeting. Mr. Kojetin informed the Park Board of what has happened since the last Park Board meeting. Mr. Rosland did meet with the surrounding neighborhood at a neighbors home who overlooks the golf course. The neighborhoods biggest concerns centered around the office building that would one day be built on the six acres. Right now the proposed building would be 5 stories, similar to the medical building at Centennial Lakes. Mr. Kojetin stated that the neighborhood people also attended the Planning Commission meeting. There were about 150 people who attended this meeting. The major focus was on the proposed building. Some of the neighbors are in favor of the golf course and like the lay out and some of them are not. There were a few concerns on hole #7 which would hit towards some of the homes. One person indicated they used the tennis courts all of the time and were against them being removed, they felt that Cornelia School was too far to go. Some people would also like to see the softball fields remain there. It was decided that the Planning Commission would authorize a 4 story building on the designated 6 acres. This was not a 1008 vote in favor to recommend to the City Council. Mr. Kojetin also indicated they do not know if Opus would accept a four story building or not. Mr. Christianson stated that it is the Park Board's task to recommend to the City Council whether or not they want to proceed with the purchase of Normandaie Golf Course and on what terms. Mr. Christianson stated that it is the staff's recommendation in the special report that the City purchase the 22 acres for the development of the golf course. Mr. Christianson suggested to the Park Board that everyone voice their concerns and after fully discussing the issue, a recommendation should be made to the City Council. Andrew Montgomery - He has no problem with the golf course. He also has no problem with the tennis courts being taken out. They are in poor shape and they are not used very often. Also, the Cornelia School tennis courts are not very far away. Mr. Montgomery did state that he has a problem with the three softball fields being eliminated. The adult softball program has been growing and since Van Valkenburg has been built the neighborhood fields at Todd, Yorktown and Highlands have been eliminated. The fields at Lake Edina have been used very heavily. Mr. Keprios did note that because of Van Valkenburg, other ball fields have been used for other organizations Jean Rydell - She asked if the ball fields could still be kept? It was noted that they could not. The space was needed in order to build a competitive and playable course. Mr. Kojetin stated the way the plan is now there is no way the fields could be saved. Mr. Christianson asked if the golf course could be shorter? Mr. Valliere stated that it really could not, it is already fairly small and the intent is to make it larger to recapture more revenue. With an executive course it will allow $2.00 to $3.00 more per round. Ms. Rydell stated she has no problem with the tennis courts being taken out. Ms. Rydell also asked if it was worth it to give up the softball fields? Mr. Kojetin stated that he feels it would be worth it. Mr. Keprios noted that this year there were 132 teams and last year there were 119 teams. It is the co-rec league that is growing. Mr. Jenkins asked if some of the neighborhood parks including Lake Edina were envisioned as closing when Van Valkenburg was built? It was noted that the Lake Edina fields have bad soil conditions and at some point in time the fields would need to be excavated and leveled out and preferably install a fabric under the soil to stabilize the playing field. It was also noted that if we lose the Lake Edina fields we will need to go back to the neighborhood parks or limit the number of teams in the program. James Fee - He is comfortable with reallocating the softball fields. He also thinks the golf course is a good proposal and will get a lot of use. However, money should be allocated to build another softball field. Chip Sour - He likes the design very much. He especially likes the two pin placement. He is also okay with the tennis courts being taken out. Paul O'Connor - He is very supportive of the golf course. This would make the sport of golf more available to all residents. Mr. O'Connor stated that he presently uses the Lake Edina tennis courts and would not have a problem using the courts at Cornelia. School.. He. has rarely seen anyone using the courts at Lake Edina Park. 2 Mac Thayer He likes the proposal. Beth Hall - She likes it, but is concerned about the softball fields. There should be a replacement to these fields, however, this should not hold up the golf course. Pat Vagnoni - She asked how people in the neighborhood feel about everything being taken away from them? Do these people feel comfortable with the new facility. Mr. Kojetin indicated they are mostly positive and they will be getting new playground equipment at another location. She also asked if there are young families in the neighborhood? It was noted that there are. Bill Jenkins - He is in favor of the golf course. The softball fields, however, will need to be relocated. Overall he thinks it is a good idea. Bob Christianson - He conceptually has no problem with the tennis courts being taken out. He is concerned about the softball fields. If the program is showing an increase in the number of participants adequate provisions need to be made. He would also like to know what the proposed golf course is going to be as well as the developer's cost. He is concerned about the $700,000 redevelopment of the golf course. There are three golf courses in one with the different pin and tee placements. He would like to know what the breakdown of the costs are. Mr. Christianson felt this is a Rolls Royce Golf Course and does Edina really need one? He feels it does not. Mr. Christianson noted he is in favor of having a golf course and having it be executive length, but not to the extent as planned. After a quick calculation he figured this way there could be a profit long before what the report shows. He is very concerned about the cost. He is in support of the golf course, but not in the context it is being presented with an elaborate 2 pin placement course. Mr. Kojetin noted they have not been given the breakdown of numbers. Bob Kojetin - Personally he feels the 22 acres should be in public ownership. As far as the golf course, there are 30 plus parks in the city and if there can be a charge for recreational activities to help maintain the park land, this would be good as we look to the future. A lot of revenue is received from this sport across the country. Mr. Kojetin also noted that corporate league play is a need in the community and this would be a good course for it. Mr. Kojetin noted that a fabric needs to be put on the fairways and greens throughout the course because of poor soil conditions. Mr. Kojetin also stated that everyone suggested and brought up good points. At the present time the architect was not given the directions to break down the cost of the development of the course. He just rounded the figure to $75,000 per hole which would be a reasonable cost for the re -development of the Normandale Golf Course. Once the property is purchased then there will be a further break down of costs and development with the architect for the golf course. 3 Roger Harold, member of the Braemar Golf Association, has seen approximately 80 courses with this same type of concept with different pin and tee placements. It creates more of a feeling of an 18 hole course. Mr. Kojetin noted that the USGA rules show that it would cost about $100,000 a hole but this figure has been cut to $75,000 per hole. It is not a long course and this is felt to be a reasonable number. The architect has also used this number. Mr. Christianson asked why we are doing this? Is it a course for the championship golfer, the casual golfer, or the just starting out golfer? Just what is the purpose of the golf course's complexity? Mr. Christianson noted if we accept the concept and have any concerns and thoughts, they should be expressed at this point so that the City Council can see them. It was asked if there is a deadline on acquiring the property? Mr. Kojetin stated that the Rauenhorst family would like to sell this fall. If the City acquires it, then the plans and specs would be started. The golf course could open sometime in 1993. Chip Sour MOVED TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT THE CITY: 1. ACQUIRE THE 22 ACRES AS PUBLIC LAND AND DEVELOP IT AS A GOLF COURSE. 2. HAVE THE STAFF OR ARCHITECT MAKE AN EVALUATION OF THE $700,000 CONSTRUCTION COST OF THE GOLF COURSE. THE PARK BOARD QUESTIONS THE PROPOSED COSTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GOLF COURSE IF IT COULD BE DONE FOR LESS. 3. IF LAKE EDINA PARK IS USED AS PART OF THE TOTAL GOLF COURSE EXPANSION: a. ELIMINATE THE SOFTBALL FIELDS BUT PROVIDE FUNDING FOR A REPLACEMENT FIELD WITHIN THE PARK SYSTEM. b. PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT FACILITY BE INCORPORATED AS RECOMMENDED BY THE PLAN BUT PROVIDE FUNDING. C. ELIMINATE TENNIS COURTS BUT PROVIDE AREA FOR FUTURE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT.,. Paul O'Connor SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. III. EDINA BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION - MIKE BURLEY, PRESIDENT Mr. Burley did not attend the Park Board meeting. IV. BRYANT LAKE REGIONAL PARK Mr. Kojetin indicated to the Park Board that Joan Lonsbury is on the Metropolitan Open Space Committee in.allocation of funding for parks. She gave a presentation at the City Council meeting and also wanted the Park Board to hear her request. She is looking for endorsements from Edina, St. Louis Park, Eden Prairie, Bloomington and Richfield for funding from the 4 state to the southern parks in Hennepin County. The majority of money the past few years has always been spent on the parks in the northern part of Hennepin County. Ms. Lonsbury would like to see Bryant Lake Regional Park receive funding first this year. This area has a lot to offer, boating, a picnic area, swimming, bike trails, walking trails, etc. Her concern is to get some proclamation, endorse her when she discusses this topic at the next Metropolitan Open Space Committee meeting. Mr. Kojetin noted that we should start using the county parks more. We do have the disadvantage that there is not a Hennepin County park in our community. Pat Vagnoni MOVED TO SUPPORT JOAN LONSBURY AND THE CITY COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION TO HAVE MORE FUNDING ALLOCATED TO SOUTHERN HENNEPIN COUNTY AND BRYANT LAKE REGIONAL PARK. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. V. OTHER A. Tennis Courts - Mr. Montgomery took it upon himself to visit all 16 tennis court sites and wrote a report on the condition of each of these courts. (See attached). Mr. Montgomery noted that there does seem to be a decline in the number of people playing tennis on the city courts. This lead Mr. Montgomery to conclude that spending major dollars on the resurfacing of Edina Park tennis courts may not seem to be a reasonable use of taxpayer dollars. He also noted that to let them become eyesores and a source of neighborhood complaints is also not in the city's best interest. Mr. Montgomery also felt that the patching technique is an alternative but it has the appearance of being repaired rather than resurfaced. The courts that have been most recently resurfaced have not lasted. He feels we need a better understanding of what we are purchasing and what guarantees we can expect regarding a court life. He noted that the Community Center and High School courts which were resurfaced this year are excellent and he would expect they will last for 5-8 years before being resurfaced again. Mr. Montgomery also noted that he does not understand why resurfacing is done in September when there is limited outdoor playing time remaining. Mr. Keprios noted that through the years they have found there are no experts in this area. Mr. Keprios indicated that the Edina School District has been using an engineering firm called Inspec to evaluate their tennis courts and parking lots. 'Mr. Keprios has been working closely with this company since March of this year to determine the most cost effective means of maintaining the tennis courts. After reviewing several different proposals, it was decided that we could only afford to do effective maintenance on three sets of courts, Normandale, Countryside and Creek Valley. This is a very tough decision to make as to which courts get done first. Decisions on which courts are in most need of maintenance are made in the Spring of the year because the majority of the damage to the tennis courts and hard surface areas occurs during the Winter months. The money allocated to maintain tennis courts and hard surface courts is the same fund in the budget to repair and install playground equipment. There is a very limited -amount of money to do playground equipment, hard surface courts and tennis courts and we are thus faced with difficult decisions when you are dealing with all kinds of complaints. We will be faced with very difficult decisions next year again because there are five of Edina's E Ll six hard surface play areas (basketball, four square, hop scotch, etc.) that need major repair as well as tennis courts in need of maintenance and playground equipment that needs repair or replacement. Mr. Montgomery also brought up the point that he feels each Park Board member should be assigned responsibility for a periodic review and comment on 4 - 5 parks of the 37 park facilities that are offered to the Edina public. Ms. Rydell asked if the park assignments could be changed around from time to time so the board members could see different parks. Mr. Kojetin noted that the staff is in the process right now of using a telephone message center service for this reason. Whenever a staff person sees something that needs to be done they call it in. Then, every morning Solvei, the office coordinator, will play the tape and give the list to Vince Cockriel, the park foreman. Mr. Kojetin also pointed out that the Park Board will sometimes look at things differently then the staff. Mr. Montgomery will have a list at the next Park Board meeting with all of the Board members assigned parks. B. Intern - Mr. Keprios introduced Jenny Black. She will be working with Mr. Keprios as an intern. She is a student at Mankato State University. C. Chowen Park - Mr. Keprios indicated that the old equipment from Chowen Park was donated to a church. He passed around photographs of what they did with the equipment. The Richfield church named their new playground site "Charlies' Playground", named after a soldier who died in Desert Storm. D. Sherwood Park - Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that they will be receiving a petition at next month's meeting from the neighbors by Sherwood Park. They would like to have an ice skating rink there this winter. E. Braemar Golf Association Board - Mr. Christianson informed the Park Board that he received a letter from the Braemar Golf Association Board. The letter indicated that they have over 600 due paying members and they have voted unanimously to approve the Park Board and City Hall efforts to pursue approval of the new nine hole course within the Braemar environs. VI. ADJOURNMENT Beth Hall MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:55 P.M. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED. L] 6