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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-08-11 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD ':30 p.m. .ugust 11, 1987 Edina City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Lonsbury, Don Wineberg, Marilyn Wooldridge, Jean Rydell, Mac Thayer, Jim Fee, Bill Lord, Bob Christianson MEMBERS ABSENT: Andrew Montgomery, James Moe STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Stacey Kness, John Valliere OTHERS PRESENT: Seventeen members of men's and women's golf leagues at Braemar Golf Course Joan Lonsbury called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 9 AND JULY 14, 1987 MEETINGS Jean Rydell MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 9 AND JULY 14, 1987, MEETINGS. Don Wineberg seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. II. FEES AND CHARGES Bob Kojetin introduced the 1988 Fees and Charges (see attached) and briefly explained the budget process. At the September meeting, Mr. Kojetin will have full copies of the operating budget for review. The Department is not raising their fees a lot this year. The Council might ask why we are not raising some of these charges. Mrs. Lonsbury asked if the Art Center Board is aware of these fees and charges. Mr. Kojetin will bring this issue to them at the end of the month at their next meeting. The Art Center has increased the amount of classes to increase revenue rather than raise membership fees. Mr. Kojetin pointed out the change in the daily admission rate for Edinborough and the Municipal Pool. Both facilities have a $2.50 daily admission for both youth and adult so they are the same as the Arena. Mr. Wineberg said the people in charge of operations should have all the decisions left up to them regarding fees and charges. Mr. Fee agreed and said they know what the competition is. Don Wineberg MOVED TO ACCEPT THE 1988 FEES AND CHARGES AS PRESENTED. Marilyn Wooldridge seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. III. CAPITAL BUDGET Bob'Kojetin explained the capital budget. Some areas have been lowered this year but will gain in later years. Upgrading of the soccer fields and football fields at Braemar moved to 1990. They shifted a cost from Arena from 1989 to 1988. Van Valkenburg Park got moved to 1989 rather than 1988 which makes more sense to do it all in 1989. Van Valkenburg should be usable in 1989. - 1 - Marilyn Wooldridge MOVED TO ACCEPT THE CAPITAL BUDGET AS PROPOSED. Bill Lord seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. IV. FLOOD DAMAGE REPORT Bob Kojetin and John Keprios inspected the parks after the July 23 storm. (See attached report.) The estimates on the report do not include lost revenue. The Art Center had about $623 in storm damage from the flooded basement. The Gun Range had 1.5 feet of water in it which was probably the most damage received of the facilities. The large hill behind the pavilion slid down to the lower parking lot. For a few weeks after the flood, the Arena parking lot was used as a community dump site until recently when the last loads were finally taken to a sanitary landfill. There seems to be no apparent damage on 66th Street from being under water for so long. Mrs. Lonsbury said the City did all it could do to help the people by providing the dump site, pumping basements, and picking up tree limbs and trash. Mr. Kojetin attended a public assistance meeting with Federal Aid representatives today. Federal Aid looks real possible for the City since Edina has been declared a disaster area. Mr. Kojetin estimated a loss of $80,000 just from parks. The Government grants 75 percent of the City's estimated damages. Of the remaining 25 percent, the state of Minnesota will pay 15 percent. The last 10 percent will be absorbed by the community. The City has up to 18 months to complete its projects. We can apply for 50 percent of the 75 percent now and when the projects are completed, we can get the remaining grant. There is assistance for individuals who cannot live in their homes. There will be low interest loans and grants up to $5,000. John Valliere requested funds from the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District to do some dredging in holding ponds at Braemar Golf Course. V. OTHER Ed MacHolda gave a report on the recent First Annual Metro Area Lifeguard Competition. Corrine Brehm, Richfield Municipal Pool, and Cindy Anderson, Flagship, helped in the organization of the event. The Red Cross had a similar event for indoor pools and only had 6 teams participate --we had 8: Edina Municipal Pool (Dream Team), Edina Country Club (Kirsten's Cake Eating Kids), Flagship (Roboguards), Eden Prairie Round Lake, Richfield Municipal Pool (Richfield Water Moccasins), Bloomington Valley.View (Vipers), Bloomington Bush Lake (Weed Chase Team), St. Louis Park Recreation Center (Untouchables). Edina Municipal Pool was the winner. Out of 6 events and a maximum of 84 points, Edina Municipal Pool won 5 events and took 82 of the 84 total points. Mr. MacHolda is very proud of the guard staff. The traveling trophy is a flag with the Lifeguard Competition logo printed on it. The whole event was a big success. Bob Kojetin said the important part of the event is that it shows the ability of our lifeguards to perform in everyday situations. Mr. MacHolda said the key is that it is an excellent motivation tool. Mrs. Lonsbury will write a letter of congratulations on behalf of the Park Board to the Edina Municipal Pool manager. Mr. MacHolda has hopes that this event can be turned into an Aquatennial event. Mr. MacHolda also commented on the changes in the proposed and actual pool hours and pool season. Ninety percent of the staff will be gone, but the pool will stay open because the public still wants to use the facility. This shows the Council, the Park Board and the citizens that we have a facility that everyone wants to use. - 2 - Mr. MacHolda received nothing but compliments on the T -Ball Coordinator, Clare Hohman, and the program itself. This year the participants received a certificate and a pennant. There were about 60 more kids than last year. VI. OTHER - GOLF COMMITTEE PROPOSAL Mrs. Lonsbury received letters on a decision made by the Braemar Golf Committee at their April meeting. Mr. Kojetin read the new rules the Committee recommended. '1) In 1988, individuals may be members of only one golf league on the regulation course. An exception to this rule will be the Couples League on Friday nights. "2) During 1987, 1988, and 1989, an individual may be a member of one additional league on the Executive Course. In 1990, a choice must be made so that membership will be in only one league at Braemar." The audience and other golf league members request a change in the new rules. John Valliere said if there is all this complaining, we could have a situation like Dwan Golf Course. They had this problem and to solve it, the Council eliminated ALL leagues except one men's, one women's, and one couples'. Mr. Valliere does not want this to happen at Braemar. New residents should not have to wait their turn to play in leagues. John Valliere moves to allow more people a chance to play in leagues. If this rule were in effect, it would provide 130 additional league members without disrupting open golf. Don Wineberg, a member of the Golf Committee, said they are looking for a way to make the opportunity for Edina residents that want to play league golf as soon as possible. There was no other way that they knew of to do this. So the only way this could be done is to allow everyone to play in one league. It is not fair for some people to be in several leagues while others have to wait to be in one. Mrs. Sylvia Eisler, Bowling Green and Braemar -Monday, requested for her group, Bowling Green, to be recognized as league supporters who helped build up the Golf Course. She believes the problems Braemar is experiencing now will work themselves out down the road since members of her group will only be golfing for a few more years. There are openings in some of the women's leagues. Mrs. Eisler said they want more people to join them. Mr. Wineberg said the Golf Committee was under the impression that there are no openings in the leagues. He stated the new residents who want to join are not asking to have the same privileges as the long time residents. They just want the opportunity to join leagues as soon as possible and not have to wait for years to play league golf. The Committee is trying to take problems that are confronting the community and take care of them now. We want to make the facility available to more individuals that don't have the opportunity now. Mr. John Hoyt, Braemar Men's Club, stated his personal opinion, not that of the whole Men's Club. He thinks that what the leagues are asking for is reasonable. They will be happy to move out of the duplicate leagues as soon as the industrial leagues are eliminated. Mr. Valliere stated there are 165 men now waiting to get into the Men's Club. The waiting period is approximately three to five years. - 3 - A member of the audience asked why can't another club be formed for all the men waiting for the Men's Club? Mr. Valliere said there has to be time for those who don't want to play in a league. Creating another league would take away from this time. Mrs. Lonsbury stated that Braemar is a public golf course. Any Edina taxpayer has a right to play. A member of the audience said she is unable to play 18 holes of golf at one time. She feels it is discriminating against the 9 -hole players that they can only be in one league. She feels that members of 9 -hole leagues should be able to play in two leagues since they will -be ending up playing the same number of holes. Mr. Wineberg stated that golf is an 18 -hole game. He also stated there is a group not represented at this meeting that doesn't have a lobby and wants to play as much as the people here tonight but can't because of the waiting lists. Are we going to turn our backs and deny them that privilege? Mr. Valliere said from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Braemar offers 18 hole golf. Prior to 9 a.m. and during league play, Braemar offers 9 hole golf. A member of the audience agreed with Mr. Valliere. She feels strongly that people should be happy to belong in one league and can play all the golf they want during the open times. Mrs. Lonsbury was surprised to receive the letter from the Men's Club with a City seal on it. A member of the audience said the club has,taken action to correct this. Bill Lord stated the Golf Committee consists of men's and women's club members. We have all had their input; as a park board, we have to heed their decisions and abide by their opinions. We have to stand behind the Golf Committee and John Valliere unless they are violently wrong; we believe in these people. Mr. Thayer and Mr. Fee agreed with Mr. Lord. Mr. Fee stated Edina Country Club had to adjust also. They now only allow members to play in one league. Mrs. Rydell also agreed with Mr. Lord. Mr. Christianson asked if doing away with the industrial leagues would open it up to more citizens. He also stated that a Council member recommends to do away with all leagues. The audience asked questions about the Golf Committee. Mr. Kojetin explained it is an ad hoc committee and only meets when there is a special topic of concern. Mr. Valliere stated the Golf Committee is appointed by the Park Board and not elected. The majority of the committee is made up of league golfers. Actually the committee should have more representation from non-league members. Not every league is represented. There was a discussion on the resident versus non-resident issue. Mrs. Lonsbury stated this issue would have to be discussed at another time. - 4 - Mr. Christianson MOVED TO ACCEPT THE GOLF COMMITTEE'S APRIL 20, 1987, RECOMMENDATIONS. Mr. Fee seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. VII. ADJOURNMENT M4 Rydell moved to adjourn at 9:10 p.m. Mrs. Wooldridge seconded the motion. Motion carried. ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL: Mr. Christianson MOVED TO ACCEPT THE GOLF COMMITTEE'S APRIL 20, 1987, RECOMMENDATIONS. Mr. Fee seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. Don Wineberg MOVED TO ACCEPT THE 1988 FEES AND CHARGES AS PRESENTED. Marilyn Wooldridge seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. - 5 -