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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-02-12 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD February 12, 1985 7:30 p.m. Edina City Hall PRESENT: Joan Lonsbury, Jim Fee, Mack Thayer, Don Wineberg, George Warner, Jean Rydell, Virginia Shaw, Marilyn Wooldridge STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, Rick Jacobson, Sue Weigle, Madelyn Krinke OTHERS PRESENT: Donna Hipps, Mrs. Jane Moran, Mrs. Peter Vaurin, Sharon Moran, Becky Vaurio, Sara Renurck, Tricia Lahti, Stephanie Reding, Emily Owen, Susan Burgdorfer, Elizabeth Crowell I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 1985 AND JANUARY 22, 1985 MEETINGS George Warner moved for approval of minutes of the meetings held on January 8, 1985 the special meeting held on January 22, 1985. Jean Rydell seconded the motion. Motion carried. II. GIRL SCOUTS - TROUP 1366 REQUESTS Mrs. Moran introduced the Girl Scouts from the 6th grade Concord Troup. The purpose of the visit by the girls was to take an active part in learning how the Park Board functions and to state requests or suggestions for several of the parks in the City of Edina. Susan Burdorfer and Elizabeth Crowell requested that the warming house attendant at Arden Rink be on time to open the warming house. Stephanie Reding noticed a lot of swings broken at Weber Park and requested some new equipment. Tricia Lahti stated that often the swings at Arden are twisted and tangled around the poles and would like the Park Department to untangle them. Sarah Renurck requested that restroom facilities be open during the summer months in the parks. Becky Vaurio and Sharon Moran requested to have more than one wood bench at Arden Park because the metal is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer to use. Bob Kojetin responded to several of the above items. Mr. Kojetin indicated that the restrooms at Pamela could be open every day during girls softball season. Mr. Kojetin suggested that the girls observe when there is broken equipment and call the Park Department to let them know where a need exists for repairs. Mr. Kojetin also asked that the girl scouts become helpers in keeping the parks and equipment in good order as much as possible. III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Bob Kojetin presided over nominations for chairperson and vice chairperson. Virginia Shaw nominated Joan Lonsbury chairperson. No other nominations were made and Virginia Shaw moved to cast a unanimous ballot, with a big thank you for serving last year. Motion was seconded and passed. Viginia Shaw moved to cast a unanimous vote for George Warner. Mack Thayer seconded the motion. Motion passed. Bob Kojetin turned the meeting back to Joan Lonsbury to chair. IV. RECREATION REPORT - SUSAN WEIGLE Sue Weigle reported that the Senior Citizen's club now has 1200 members. Seven years ago the membership was 400. The membership gains are due to location, congregate dining, and the many special activities and tours which continue to expand. Health services remain the same with blood pressure checks being offered every week. A new service has been added this year, that being a hearing screen which is done by the public health nurse from Bloomington. John Brown, Chemical Advisor is also available several times a month. The seniors continue to do a lot of volunteer work, cheese distribution being one area which they handle. Transportation program reached an all time low in October and November because of lack of volunteer drivers. After advertising in the newspapers, several new drivers volunteered so there are once again sufficient drivers to have the bus run every week day. Some of the special activities the seniors enjoyed the past year included a special golf event at Braemar evening, golfing leagues, bowling leagues, bingo, Singing Seniors, and a new exercise class which was started by the latest senior intern. Another special program just recently begun is the Pen Pal program where young adults become pen pals with a senior. Also, 47 seniors went on a trip to Mackinac Island last summer, and had a very enjoyable time. The seniors will be participating in Expo 85 also this spring. April 9th there will be a special program done by the Minnesota History Theatre at the senior center. The emphasis of the Senior club has become quality programs rather than quantity. One of the needs of the senior citizens program is more space. The congregate dining requires the facility to be tied up with tables so much of the day that activities requiring the open space must be restricted. Because of the tables being so heavy it is difficult for the seniors to adequately move them fast and efficiently to clear more space during a program. A stage would also be a very useful item in presenting a number of programs for the seniors. Jean Rydell asked if there would be room for the seniors in Edinborough and Bob Kojetin stated that there would only be general park facilities for the seniors at the present time. It was suggested by Virginia Shaw that we look into finding more light -weight tables which could be easily moved by seniors to open up more space for other activities immediately after the seniors finish congregate dining, and that possibly some civic minded group would take on a project of supplying such tables if there are any on the market. Joan Lonsbury asked if there is a possibility of using the York library, and Sue Weigle responded that the problem would be to get the seniors there. F V. WOODDALE/UTLEY UPDATE Joan Lonsbury was at the February 4 council meeting, and she gave the recommendation of the Park Board to the council. The council will be meeting on March 4 to make a decision. Joan stated that a neighbor of the park, Joe Price requested that the council appoint members of the neighborhood to help plan the park. VI. OTHER VAN VALKENBURG PARK: Van Valkenburg Park is in the process of being designed and bids will be opened some time in April and construction should start the latter part of April. It was suggested that possibly there could be a dedication of the park in the early summer or in the fall since it was requested by Mr. Van Valkenburg. Bob Kojetin indicated that he is working with Mr. Van Valkenburg on a dedication date. PAR 3: Design work is now being done for the expansion of the Par 3 course at Braemar. There are some problems that exist because of a 48" storm drain pipe leading into the North end of the site. Because of the storm water there has to be more engineering and design work for holding and disposing of the storm water into 9 mile creek, but there is no real problem with the timing and construction of the course. Bob Kojetin suggested that because of the mild winter this year, the frost in the peaty area has not gone down very far and it could be a possibility that we would not be able to construct the Par 3 course this year and would have to delay starting the Par 3 course into the fall. In the overall design and construction of the Par 3 the possibility of state aid funding for a portion of the Braemar Boulevard road could help defray some of the cost for the drainage and storm water problem of the site. At the same time, we could possibly construct a bridge over Braemar Blvd. and also solve some of the traffic problems to the entrance to the club house parking lot. NORMANDALE: Bob Kojetin reported that a discussion on constructing of an office building on a portion of the Normandale Golf Course, which is highly opposed by the neighbors, was heard at the council meeting. The discussion by the council was to table the decision and see if at all possible another solution could be worked out with the Opus Corporation. SOCCER: Bob Kojetin reported that there are some problems with the soccer program. The association wants to start a league for ages 18 and under which would be a super -type league consisting of Edina and non Edina participants. The motive behind this is that the state high school league has a rule that there can not be over 7 high school soccer players from one school on the same team. The soccer association wants teams made up of several cities, but have us run it. John Keprios has indicated to the association he is adamantly against it. Bob Kojetin wants to sit down with the Board to discuss the matter. 3 Joan Lonsbury reported that she had a complaint that a hockey game had been scheduled at 8:30 on a Sunday morning for elemntary age players. Bob Kojetin indicated he would check on it. TEEN CENTER Bob Kojetin stated that there have been meetings regarding establishing a teen center again. Rick Jacobson has been at some preliminary meetings initiated by Alice Randall of Community Education. Rick indicated that there is some interest by parents and community to begin some type of program geared primarily toward the Jr. High age group to offer them alternatives to flocking around the football fields during the Sr. High games and away from businesses. The primary time they are concerned with covering would be Friday and Saturday nights. The Community Ed is willing to contribute $750 to begin some type of program and the City also is willing to commit $750. The Park and Recreation Department has been asked if they would take an active role in running the program. Rick asked for reaction of the Park Board. Virginia Shaw suggested turning it back over to those who asked us to get involved to come up with suggestions. She does not feel our staff should be burdened with this type of thing now, and the program would be stronger if it comes from grass roots. Several groups in Edina, particularly church groups, now offer groups for young people. Don Wineberg surmised that there might be duplication of effort if other groups are now offering activities. He also feels that until the need is clarified we should not act. BANDY: Rick Jacobson, Bob Kojetin, Don Wineberg and Larry Thayer just returned from Norway and Sweden where THE U.S.A. team played for the first time in in the Bandy World Championships. Five countries participated in a round robin tournament. The USSR won the World Championship. We can be proud of our National Team for their participation. The temperatures were extremely cold and they played very well. Virginia Shaw moved to adjourn. Don Wineberg Seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m. 21