HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-03-11 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD
7:00 P.M.
March 11, 1986
Edina City Hall
MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Lonsbury, John Thayer, Jim Fee, Marilyn Wooldridge, Jean
Rydell, Bob Christianson, William Lord, Don Wineberg
MEMBERS ABSENT: Andy Montgomery , George Warner
STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, John Valliere, Madelyn
Krinke
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Bjerken, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mattson, Gary
Rosen, Sheldon Danielson, G.H. Danielson, Donna Hipps
Joan Lonsbury called the meeting to order.
I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11 MEETING
Jean Rydell moved to approve the minutes of the February 11, 1986 meeting. John
Thayer seconded the motion. Motion Carried.
II. 66TH STREET PROPERTY
Bob Kojetin explained that the Park Board has already heard the matter of the
proposed sale of city lot along 66th Street and West Shore Drive. they made a
recommendation to the Council to sell the lot and the City Council discussed the
sale at a regular meeting, and gave approval for the sale. Objections were
raised by some individuals after the Council meeting that they had not received
notice of the Park Board or Council meetings. The Council therefore decided to
ask the Park Board to hear the matter again after notice to all the neighbors
legally entitled to notice.
Mr. Kojetin stated that the staff has been looking at some of the small parcels
of land which the City has acquired over the years to see if there are some
which serve no real purpose for the City which might be sold to serve a better
purpose. The 66th Street Property is one of these pieces of land. If Virginia
Ave. were vacated and joined to the existing lots, there could be two additional
buildable lots created. Gordon Hughes had suggested to Mr. Danielson that if he
did buy the lot, he could subdivide his property to create two additional
'buildable lots.
Bob Christianson asked if it were subdivided into two additional buildable lots,
would they be comparable size to the other lots in the subdivision. Mr. Kojetin
indicated that they would appear to be about the same.
Gunnar Danielson stated that lots 1 and 3 are the present lots on which his
house is built. The proposed division is what Mr. Hughes had suggested. Mr.
Danielson said his reasons for wanting to buy the property are not for his own
gain, but to actually improve the property. He feels that it is being used as a
dump area for leaves, grass clippings, and trash, and that the area is not and
cannot be used as a park as it is without bringing in fill because there are
many deep holes and gullies. Mr. Danielson feels that if the lot were built on,
the land would be far more attractive than the way it looks now.
Dick Bjerken whose property adjoins Mr. Danielson's to the North, addressed the
Park Board. He showed photos of the property in question as it appears in the
summer. He objects to the parcel of land being sold. Mr. Bjerken feels it adds
a lot to the aesthetics of the whole area because it is part of a beautiful
entrance to Cornelia Park. Another reason Mr. Bjerken objects to the lot being
sold is because it is not presently serviced by utilities and in order to run
sewer and water, his back yard and others would have to be dug up and he has
some very large, mature trees which would have to be disturbed.
Paul Mattson of 6516 W. Shore Drive also addressed the Park Board with an
objection to selling the lot on 66th Street. He lives one lot away from the
property. Mr. Mattson objected because he feels the present aesthetics of the
area are very important to the neighborhood and he feels it should be left as it
is. He suggested that the dumping on that lot is no worse than it is in the
Cornelia Park itself. It is Mr. Mattson's opinion that Edina does not have
enough park property and it makes no sense to give up this piece. He further
stated that it gives a lot of enjoyment to the people. He is disappointed that
it has been brought up again because he was of the impression that when it was
discussed in 1968 and the decision was made not to run Parnell through to 66th,
but to run West Shore through, that the city property would become park board
property and he thought that Virginia Ave. was going to be given to the city as
well. He would like to know what happened to that plan. Mr. Mattson said he
would like to see the property remain with the Park Board and the people.
Joan Lonsbury asked if Mr. Mattson has observed dumping in the park. Mr.
Mattson stated that he as actually seen trucks dump leaves and debris in the
park.
Gary Rosen of 6500 West Shore Dr. stated that the neighbors have an annual clean
up of the lot and park to pick up cans and debris which has accumulated during
the winter. He said there is very little debris on the small city lot in
comparison to what is in the park. He stated that he and Ray Kostick and Mike
Montgomery, neighbors who were unable to attend the Park Board meeting, were
very much opposed to the sale of the lot. They like the atmosphere which the
lot provides. It is important to these neighbors and he feels to others from
several blocks away who come through that area because they enjoy walking in the
park. Mr. Rosen stated that the city does not have to spend much on maintenance
of the property - cutting of grass on the boulevard is the only thing that is
done, because it is a natural wild area.
Skip Thomas, who lives at 6525 Parnell, stated that he bought his house in
September of 1984 and he decided on that neighborhood because it was a very
beautiful area. It is very important to him and was a big reason why he bought
there.
Mr. Danielson spoke about the dumping on the lot which has occurred for many
years. He said that because of the holes and mess that was created, it is not
an area that is usable. Mr. Danielson stated that he thinks when Virginia Ave.
is vacated, he would own half of that strip of land, if it has not already been
done. He feels that paying $28,000 for the parcel of land and paying for the
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cost of utilities and other costs to upgrade the parcel to a buildable lot is an
advantage to the city, because he feels that the land would be improved if built
upon.
Bob Kojetin explained that there is a 20 foot strip easement across the
neighboring properties for access to water and sewer to the lots in question.
One of the stipulations of the sale would be that Mr. Danielson would have to
follow through with the planning commission to have the lots subdivided and
sewer and water run to the lots.
Bill Lord asked what the total benefit would be to the city. Bob Kojetin stated
that it would be $28,000.
Paul Mattson asked again about the ownership of the strip of land created by
vacating Virginia Ave. Bob Kojetin stated that he would have to go back into
the records and investigate.
Bob Christianson said he is generally not in favor of turning park property back
to individuals and wonders if any plans exist for further development of the
land. Bob Kojetin answered that there were no plans at this time.
Bob Christianson asked whether the city might consider filling in the gullies
and holes and Bob Kojetin replied that open space is usually left in its natural
state. Mr. Kojetin had walked around on the lot last spring and it was really a
mess from the debris which had accumulated. He does not feel that it is a
really valuable piece of property because of its small size. He further pointed
out that Lot #3 could be sold right now if Mr. Danielson wanted to.
Bill Lord asked what kind of control the city has over what is built on the
iot. Bob Kojetin said the planning commission would have to give approval for
any type of building that would be built.
Bob Christianson MADE A MOTION THAT THE PARK BOARD RECOMMEND THAT THE PROPERTY
ON WEST 66TH STREET NOT BE SOLD. Jim Fee SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
III. FEES AND CHARGES FOR BRAEMAR CLUB HOUSE RENTAL
Bob Kojetin stated that there will not be a Council meeting in April until the
14th, therefore there is a need to set up a policy and fee schedule for the
rental of the new Banquet Room at Braemar Golf Course.
John Valliere presented a memo to the Park Board (copy attached) in which he set
forth his recommendations for fees and charges for the Club House Rental.
Don Wineberg commented that he questioned why the Co-ed lounge would be rented,
and wondered if that would be taking space away from golfers who would normally
be using it. John Valliere agreed that it should not be rented during golfing
hours to avoid creating a problem for golfers wanting to use it, but still felt
that there would be times when a small group of people might want to rent that
area and not the large Banquet Room.
John Valliere mentioned that he would come back to the Park Board in April or
May with details on rules, regulations and contracts that would be used for
rental of the Banquet Room. He said that he had checked with several other
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which have a similar room which is rented out to get an idea of what the market
is for such facilities and he based his recommendation on these figures and
expects to increase the rental fee for 1987.
Don Wineberg suggested going with flat fees for all rentals, not a charge per
person because it is difficult to carry out that type of system. Don also
suggested that a larger fee could probably be charged for the rental of the
Banquet Room than the fee proposed by John Valliere.
Bob Kojetin mentioned that the Council has been talking about the wine issue and
has asked the staff to come up with a recommendation or ideas of what should be
done regarding serving of wine at the Banquet Room. The way the ordinance and
state law now stands, no wine could be served at the Club House.
Bill Lord MADE A MOTION THAT THE PARK BOARD AMEND THEIR POLICY ON CONSUMPTION OF
ALCOHOL AT BRAEMAR GOLF COURSE CLUB HOUSE TO ALLOW SERVING OF WINE AND REQUESTS
THAT THE CITY COUNCIL TAKE ACTION TO MAKE SERVING OF WINE LEGAL AT BRAEMAR GOLF
COURSE CLUB HOUSE. Bob Christianson SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION PASSED.
Regarding fees and charges, Joan Lonsbury stated that she would like to see a
reduced flat fee for small groups because she thought it might be more difficult
to increase prices if it were on a per person basis. A recommendation was then
made by John Valliere to increase the per person charge for evening meetings of
civic organizations to a flat rate. $150 per evening was suggested and agreed
upon by the board.
Bill Lord MADE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE BOB KOJETIN, DON WINEBERG, AND JOHN
VALLIERE TO FINALIZE RECOMMENDATION OF FEES AND CHARGES FOR BRAEMAR GOLF COURSE
BANQUET ROOM AND TO PRESENT THAT RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL
AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING. Bob Christianson SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Discussion about the priority list on page two of John Valliere's memo resulted
in the suggestions that #4 should be a priority over #3, that patron card
holders should have a place in the priority list and that some type of time
system should be included in the priority list to make it meaningful.
IV. WARMING HOUSE RECOMMENDATIONS
Ed MacHolda presented statistics on the warming house attendance. Ed reported
that attendance was taken by the warming house attendants every two hours and he
feels that the attendants were very responsible individuals who kept quite
accurate records.
Bob Kojetin stated that there is a great need for additional soccer fields in
the park system and after considering the skating statistics at Normandale and
other rinks, his recommendation would be to convert the hockey and general rink
area at Normandale to a small soccer field and a second soccer field where the
football- little league field area presently exists at Normandale. It was
pointed out that even though the actual number of skaters was greater at
Normandale than at several other parks, a factor which must be taken into
account is that Broomball was scheduled there, and if it had not been, the count
would have been about 500 less. Mr. Kojetin would then recommend moving
broomball to Weber rink and only schedule flooding once a week instead of every
day as in the past since broomball does not require well groomed ice.
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Bill Lord asked if there would be a big savings in closing a rink. Bob Kojetin
stated that if a new facility would be built at Braemar, the manpower would be
transferred to that facility, so the difference would be in a more efficient use
of the manpower.
Don Wineberg MADE A MOTION THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SOCCER
FIELDS, THE SKATING AREAS AT NORMANDALE BE REPLACED BY SOCCER FIELDS, AND THAT
BROOMBALL BE MOVED TO WEBER, AND OPEN SKATING AT NORMANDALE IN THE FUTURE BE
INVESTIGATED. Bob Christianson SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION PASSED.
V. RECREATION REPORT
John Keprios presented a written recreation report. Additional information was
shared regarding recreation. Ed MacHolda reported that soccer registration is
at 1400 with 300 1st and 2nd graders. Bob Kojetin added information about the
contract with North Star Day Camp to provide an all day camp for 4-13 year
olds. North Star will be using the dome from 6:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. and from
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. for a fee of about $20/day for 12 weeks.
Marilyn Wooldridge gave a brief summary of the Sports Complex feasibility study.
The committee has been meeting and had hoped to have a recommendation to bring
to the Park Board for the March meeting, but did not have enough information
yet. Hopefully they will have a recommendation for the April meeting.
John Keprios commented that the pavilion floor will have to be repaired
regardless of what is done about facilities.
A new program which will be offered next year will be hockey for adults. It
will be scheduled on outdoor rinks.
VI. OTHER
Joan Lonsbury stated that she had a complaint about 9 and 10 year olds having
been scheduled for a hockey game on a Sunday morning.
Joan Lonsbury stated that the Annual All Volunteers Award Recognition is April
22 from 5-7 p.m. at Interlachen. The cost is $6. Suggestions for candidates
are needed.
It was decided to change the Park Board meeting date from April 8 to April 15
due to the school vacation during the week of April 7.
Don Wineberg MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. Jim Fee SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED
Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL:
MOTION THAT THE PARK BOARD RECOMMEND THAT THE PROPERTY ON WEST 66TH STREET NOT BE
SOLD.
MOTION THAT THE PARK BOARD AMEND THEIR POLICY ON CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL AT BRAEMAR
GOLF COURSE CLUB HOUSE TO ALLOW SERVING OF WINE AND REQUESTS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL
TAKE ACTION TO MAKE SERVING OF WINE LEGAL AT BRAEMAR GOLF COURSE CLUB HOUSE.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE BOB KOJETIN, DON WINEBERG, AND JOHN VALLIERE TO FINALIZE
RECOMMENDATION OF FEES AND CHARGES FOR BRAEMAR GOLF COURSE BANQUET ROOM AND TO
PRESENT THAT RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL AT THE NEXT COUNCIL
MEETING.
MOTION THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SOCCER FIELDS, THE SKATING AREAS AT
NORMANDALE BE REPLACED BY SOCCER FIELDS, AND THAT BROOMBALL BE MOVED TO WEBER, AND
OPEN SKATING AT NORMANDALE IN THE FUTURE BE INVESTIGATED. Bob Christianson SECONDED
THE MOTION. MOTION PASSED.
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