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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-05-08 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 p.m. May 8, 1990 Manager's Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Christianson, Pat Vagnoni, Bill Jenkins, Bill Lord, Andrew Montgomery, Jean Rydell, Mac Thayer, Beth Hall, Cliff Sour MEMBERS ABSENT: Scott Johnson, James Fee STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Moe, Mary Lou Foster 1. APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 10, 1990 MINUTES Jean Rydell MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 10, 1990 MEETING. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. 2. EDINA BASEBALL ASSOCIATION Jim Moe, President of the Edina Baseball Association, gave a brief talk about the Baseball Association. He indicated that this year there are 900 kids involved. The Association has seen an upgrade in the Jugball Program (9 and 10 year olds) they have 300 kids participating. The Association is very pleased with the numbers. The Edina Baseball Association's Board has 19 volunteers and one paid program coordinator. The coordinator basically works with the Jugball Program and is also responsible for hiring and assigning umpires. Mr. Moe indicated that this year they are a little short on sponsors. Basically a sponsor is involved for a 3 year period and gives $400.00 each year to the team for uniforms. The sponsors names are put on the uniforms and they are listed in the program schedule. The question was asked if the Association does any fund raising and Mr. Moe replied that they do not. The only way the Association receives their funds is through fees and sponsors. In addition, the Association also runs the concession stand out at Braemar in the summer. Mr. Moe indicated there was one thing he was concerned about at the parks and that is First Aid. He stated that they do not have any ice on hand. None of the parks have any quick first aid available and he was wondering if this is anything that the Park Board might fund? Mr. Keprios indicated that E.G.A.A. has a first aid bag for each team that is part of their program. Mr. Moe also stated that not all of the other fields are maintained as well as Braemar. There sometimes is a real problem with the fields especially at Garden where there is a lip between the dirt and the grass. Mr. Moe stated that this can cause a wild and potentially dangerous bounce. Mr. Kojetin indicated that all fields including Braemar have this problem and the Park Department tries the best they can to prevent this from happening. This is an ongoing problem with any baseball field. He explained as you maintain and drag a field you have a build up of in -field mixture that goes into the sod. Each year a portion of the sod is cut to eliminate this problem and by the end of the year there generally is a build up again. This is a maintenance problem that is worked on through the summer and also in the fall when the season is over with. It is sometimes difficult to maintain this lip early in the spring because the high school teams are using the fields. Mr. Moe indicated that there is no rake or equipment at the fields. He was wondering if some equipment could be left at the fields and the coaches could take turns working on the fields right before the games. Mr. Kojetin indicated that storage is the most difficult problem. Mr. Kojetin explained that equipment that is stored on site at local parks often get vandalized or stolen. Mr. Kojetin questioned whether the coaches would actually help maintain the fields. Mr. Moe inquired if he could get more space for the association at the Public Works building. Mr. MacHolda indicated that both soccer and football also need more space and that Hockey is moving out of Public Works and down to the Arena. The possibility of these three associations getting more space will be looked into. Mr. Moe asked the Park Board where they are on the centralized alcohol program? Mr. Christianson indicated that at this point the Park Board is receiving input from all of the associations on this issue. 3. DONATION OF PAMELA PARK LAND Mr. Kojetin showed a piece of property at Pamela Park Lake where a resident owns an outlot that he would like to donate to the City of Edina. Mr. Kojetin indicated that all of the outlot is under water and none of the property of the outlet at the present time is above water. The taxes in 1989 were $205.00. There are no special assessments on the piece of property at the present time. Mr. Kojetin recommended that the Board accept this piece of property at this time and recommend it to the City Council. Chip Sour MOVED TO ACCEPT THE GIFT OF OUTLOT B IN LAKE PAMELA. Jean Rydell SECONDED THE MOTION. Mr. Montgomery questioned what would happen if the Park Board did not accept the property? Mr. Kojetin indicated that it would probably be a piece of property that would go tax forfeited and eventually would be brought to the City to accept as a tax forfeited property at which time the Board would probably recommend to accept it. MOTION CARRIED TO RECOMMEND THE GIFT OF LAND TO THE CITY COUNCIL. 2 4. FINAL JUPITER AND BEYOND REPORT Mr. Kojetin indicated that the Park Board should now have a final recommendation on the Jupiter and Beyond Report and forward it on to the Planning Commission and the City Council for a final hearing. This would then go for a hearing to the Planning Commission on May 30th and on to the City Council on June 18th. The report also will be distributed to all contiguous communities of Edina and also to all of the school districts within the City of Edina. After it is final, the report will be part of the comprehensive report of the City of Edina. Also, a copy of the report will be forwarded to the Metropolitan Council. The survey which was done in 1988 will not be made a part of this booklet because of the amount of printing that would have to be done but it is referred to in the report that the survey is on file at the Edina City Hall. In the original presentation at the last Park Board meeting the capital improvement sheets (the pink sheets) were tentatively recommended to be brought back to this meeting for any changes for final approval. Mr. Kojetin distributed a green sheet which enclosed the same information but added to the next 5 year priority list $20,000 each year to the Capital Improvement Budget. The Developer's Fund, which at present is about $465,000, before the transfer of the Art Center 100,000, and the lights at Van Valkenburg for $125,000, would leave approximately $200,000 in the account. Bill Jenkins MOVED TO REFER THE JUPITER AND BEYOND REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR FINAL ACCEPTANCE. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Christianson thanked everyone for their hard work on this report. Jean Rydell MOVED TO REFER THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PRIORITIES LIST TO THE CITY COUNCIL. Mac Thayer SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. 5. CAHILL INTERPRETATIVE PARK Mr. Kojetin indicated that there is going to be an interpretative site at Cahill and 70th Street which is the old church site. The Heritage Preservation Board and Historical Society have recommended to remove the church. The Heritage Preservation Board and Historical Society have recommended that they would like to see some type of interpretative site on this corner showing the early settlement of the 70th and Cahill corner. The developer met with staff and the Historical Society to come up with some type of plan for an interpretative site. Mr. Kojetin then showed some renderings of interpretative sites for the corner. These renderings have gone to the Historical Society and Heritage Preservation Board for their final approval. At this time, Mr. Kojetin would like to have the Park Board make some type of recommendation on one of the three renderings and one of the three locations that the Park Board would like to see happen at the 70th and Cahill corner. Mr. Kojetin gave a brief description of the renderings and 3 locations and asked for a consensus vote on which one they liked the most. After a vote of the Park Board, Site B was recommended as first choice and monument rendering B as the first choice. Mr. Kojetin indicated that the cost for this Interpretative site would be approximately $25,000 which would be from the Developer's Fund, which will be funded by the new development at this corner. The final amount from the Developer's Fund for this site has not been determined as of yet but would be more than $25,000. 6. OTHER E.G.A.A. - Mr. Keprios stated that he was asked by the E.G.A.A. to forward their complaint of the janitors' lack of service at some of the schools, and specifically Concord Elementary. Mr. Jenkins asked what can we do about this? Mr. Christianson said that really the only thing we can do is let our feelings be known to the School Board. Mr. Keprios was hoping that Mr. Johnson would be at this meeting to discuss it with him. Van Valkenburg_Dedication - The Dedication of Van Valkenburg fields will be May 17th at 7:30 p.m. The Agenda will be: 7:30 Mayor Richards; 7:35 Mr. Christianson; 7:40 Ribbon Cutting, Jim Van Valkenburg; 7:45 throw first ball. There will be refreshments and cake. Mr. Christianson indicated he would like to throw on the switch for the lights. Tennis Courts - Mr. Montgomery brought up the fact that the Normandale Tennis Courts are in very poor shape. Mr. Keprios indicated that in 1986 we had four sets of tennis courts resurfaced by a contractor who had the lowest bid. Because of the poor weather conditions of ice and rain this early spring it caused a flaking off of large chunks of the courts that were resurfaced in 1986. The contractor in 1986, Deephaven Courts, did a terrible job and unfortunately those problems do not surface for over a year and by that time the warranty was over. Deephaven Courts, Inc. has since gone out of business. Mr. Keprios indicated that this year there are 8 out of 16 sets of courts that are in need of resurfacing. The courts in need of resurfacing are: 1. Normandale* 2. Todd* 3. Walnut Ridge* 4. Braemar 5. Creek Valley 6. Lake Cornelia Pool 7. Lake Edina 8. Yorktown *These courts were resurfaced by Deephaven Courts, Inc. in 1986. Utley Park tennis courts were also resurfaced by Deephaven Courts, Inc. in 1986 and had to be resurfaced again in 1989. Because of this flaking problem, it is a must that we do something with these courts because they are unplayable in some areas. Mr. Keprios also stated that there is also a liability at some of these courts because of their dangerous condition. The Board's discussion centered around recommending to the City Council to allocate additional funds for 4 7 8 resurfacing four additional sets of courts (2 tennis courts per set) this year. Mr. Keprios indicated that it would be approximately $10,000 to $15,000 to redo these additional eight courts but there is no money in the capital or operating budget. The Park Board felt that if this is a liability for the courts maybe the Park Board should recommend to the City Council for $10,000 to $15,000 from the Developer's Fund or whatever other possible fund so as these courts can immediately be done this summer. Andrew Montgomery MOVED TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT MONEY BE APPROPRIATED TO RESURFACE THE TENNIS COURTS DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES OF WEATHER BUT NOT TO EXCEED $15,000.00. Bill Lord SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. Different Parks - Mr. Keprios indicated that the Basketball Association has shown an interest to donate money for a new outdoor basketball court at an outside facility at one of Edina's local Parks. The newly rebuilt basketball court at Countryside looks great and has become an inspiration for the E.B.A. to donate money to construct another outdoor court in the City. Also, the Soccer Association has indicated that they wish to donate some funding for sod at the Braemar Football/Soccer Field. Edina Realty is interested in possibly donating funds to upgrade playground equipment at Cornelia Park. Swimming Pool - Mr. Kojetin indicated that they have hired a consultant to study the swimming pool for immediate needs and also an overall study if the pool needs to be reconstructed. Centennial Lakes - Mr. Kojetin gave a short overview of the Centennial Lakes Park project. At the last Council meeting they awarded three contracts to start construction at Centennial Lakes. One contract is for the construction of the park pavilion building. The second construction is the main park on the west side of Central park portion. The third contract is for the north lake sodding and irrigation on the east side of the central park and north park area. It is hoped construction will start the first part of June and be completed sometime around the first of the year. At this time, it is thought that the plant material will not totally be planted until the Spring of 1991. NEXT PARK BOARD MEETING It was recommended that at the next Park Board meeting the members take a tour of some of the different parks and facilities. ADJOURNMENT Jean Rydell MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:05 P.M. Bill Jenkins SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED. 5