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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRCMinutes-20080513 City of Hastings Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes City Hall Volunteer Room May 13, 2008 – 6:00 pm 1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Miller, Nelson, Rohloff, Smith, and Vandehoef, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein, Superintendent Smith. Absent: Commissioner Schommer 2) The NRRC conducted interviews with two applicants for the vacant NRRC position. 3) Approved April meeting minutes. Motion by Miller. Seconded by Nelson. Passed unanimously. 4) Setting Agenda: Add Approved Capital Improvements for 2008, Skate Park, and New Chairperson. 5) Department updates were passed out and reviewed with commissioners. Superintendent Smith mentioned that we had a porta-potty burned down again at Conzemius Park. Commissioners discussed ways to try to curtail vandalism. One suggestion was to post signs where vandalism has occurred asking the neighborhood to watch the area. Director Bernstein mentioned that some cities in the Metro have put up signs offering reward money to anyone who gives information on a vandal that leads to a conviction. Commissioner Nelson stated that the trail behind Hillside Court seems to get a lot of vandalism not only to public property, but to private homes as well. Since that trail doesn’t lead anywhere anymore, staff is considering removing it in the future. The Friends of the Mississippi did a burn in the Sand Coulee this spring. Also, they’ve been working to remove non-native tree species in that area. A group of volunteers also recently did a clean up in the Sand Coulee. The DNR wants to schedule a date to install the dock at Lake Isabel. This project should be done before Memorial Day. th Director Bernstein mentioned that it is the HFAC’s 10 year anniversary this year. Also, he updated the commissioners on the progress with the new arena floor. 6) is installed and ready. We’ve had a few problems Mississippi Public Boat Dock NRRC Updates – The with people fishing, but staff is attempting to alleviate that issue. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, 5/19 at 5:30 p.m. The NRRC was invited and encouraged to attend. River Flats Overlook Construction has begun on the . Currently, we are waiting for the fabrication of the railing around the structure. Staff is hoping that construction will be done by early June. The Rotary Club of Hastings approached staff about doing a civic project. They are considering donating a spotter’s scope for the new overlook. Skateboard Park equipment Staff has been meeting internally to discuss what to do with the . Director Bernstein feels that there is a need to reinstitute the park, as we still receive calls asking about it. The big questions are where it should be located and which equipment should be installed. Director Bernstein asked for direction from the NRRC as to next steps. Should we open it up for a community wide meeting, as done before? Commissioner Nelson asked how the YMCA received our rejection to donate the equipment to the Hudson YMCA. Staff hasn’t heard anything back from the YMCA regarding that. Commissioner Miller suggested possibly placing something in the newspaper about the skate park and ask people to send e-mail comments or suggestions. Commissioner Vandehoef said that he feels we should try one more time to try to find a suitable location in Hasting for the skate park. Staff did try putting the tier one equipment at Lions Park. We had lots of users but there were vandalism and litter issues and the neighborhood didn’t like it. Superintendent Smith mentioned that other cities seem to have success with tier one parks, but they do often add video cameras to monitor the area. Bernstein mentioned that the equipment was approximately $50,000-60,000 when purchased originally. Another option is to sell the equipment. Commissioner Nelson asked what the differences are between at Tier 1 and Tier 2 park. With a Tier 2 park, you must staff it, fence it or secure it in some way, and riders need to wear protective gear. There are also specs on the distance from one piece of equipment to the next. Tier 1 parks have less space requirements and it doesn’t have to be staffed or fenced. Commissioner Smith mentioned that he sees kids skateboarding at schools, in streets, on private property, etc., since they have no park to go to. Commissioner Nelson suggested possibly selling the tier 2 equipment and putting the tier 1 equipment up somewhere. Director Bernstein will keep the NRRC posted on more developments. 7)Tuttle Park – Director Bernstein explained that a homeowner who lives directly next to the ballfield at Tuttle is having problems during scheduled games. People are parking in her driveway, using her yard, asking to use her bathroom, etc. Director Bernstein stated that Tuttle Park hasn’t had scheduled activities until just a few years ago. This house is literally a few feet from the backstop. Trees are pretty sparse between the house and field. Director Bernstein did send a letter out to HYAA, a primary user of Tuttle Park, explaining the situation and asking for cooperation in limiting these issues. Cindy Lyon did respond that HYAA would try to minimize these issues internally. The homeowner is wondering if the City would be willing to pay half to install a fence between her home and ball park. The estimate for a 185 foot long, 5 foot high chain link fence came in at $3,325. Director Bernstein said that a fence would help to delineate private property from public property. Commissioner Rohloff mentioned that he did go over and look at the house. Neighbors approached him and said that if this homeowner got a fence, they would request one also. Director Bernstein asked if the NRRC would want to develop a procedure for cases like this – perhaps something stating that if a park amenity is a within certain predetermined distance from private property, the City would pay half the cost to install a fence. The commissioners discussed how close some of the playground equipment is to homes too, in this park and in others around town. Commissioner Nelson commented that it is important in future developments to make sure we are receiving a big enough parcel of land to eliminate this issue. Commissioner Miller felt that helping to put up a fence in this instance may open a Pandora’s Box in other areas of town and this sentiment was echoed by other commissioners. Commissioner Vandehoef felt that as long as we set up some specific criteria for when the City would pay half, it shouldn’t be a problem. The backstop is extremely close to this particular home. Commissioner Nelson mentioned that HYAA did send out a letter regarding this and Tuttle Park is on the agenda for their meetings. Commissioner Vandehoef emphasized that the main issue is that we have too many neighborhood parks being used for scheduled activities. This isn’t the only park that has issues with design and intended use. Long term planning should look at how we could redevelop parks so that we don’t have those issues. Commissioner Miller questioned whether a five-foot chain link fence would really help in this instance. People will just climb on it, lean on it, etc. Maybe a privacy fence of some type is really what is needed. The NRRC recommended to hold off on the fence until we see how successful HYAA’s attempts are. The commission also recommended getting more police patrols in that area to enforce parking issues. 8)Park Reservation Policy: An updated Park Reservation form was passed out. Staff has added a cancellation policy in order to alleviate lost staff time/money when an event is canceled last minute. 9)New Business -2008 Approved Capital Improvements were reviewed with the NRRC. Kristin can e-mail the list out to commissioners if requested. Commissioners asked if it would be possible to list the planned improvements for the year on the city website? Director Bernstein mentioned that the budget for rd 2009 has to be in to our Finance Dept. early this year – by May 23. He stated that 2009 will be a lean budget year and he doesn’t anticipate many high capital improvements. -The NRRC discussed the two NRRC candidates. MOTION: Commissioner Miller motioned to recommend Paul Tessmer-Tuck to City Council to fill the NRRC vacancy. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. -NRRC Chairperson: City Administration said that the NRRC needs to revote for Chair and Vice- Chair now that Commissioner Vaughan has left. Commissioner Vandehoef stated that he would be willing to serve as Chair. An e-mail from Commissioner Schommer had said that he was willing as th to serve as well. The NRRC decided to wait until the June 10 meeting to vote on a new Chair and Vice-Chair. th -For the June 10 meeting, staff has tentatively scheduled a meeting with an organization from the National Parks Division called MNRA which works with the leisure corridor along the Mississippi River. The Planning Commission, the Friends of the Mississippi, and the NRRC will all be abelto discuss the Mississippi corridor. The agenda for the meeting will be driven by MNRA. Staff will get the agenda to the NRRC as soon as we can. -Commissioner Rohloff asked about the recent Hiawatha Trail meeting. Director Bernstein said that there seemed to be some misunderstanding in the amount of involvement the City of Hastings has in the trail. Trail corridor involvement from the City of Hastings’ perspective is to our southernmost border. The City is not the driving force behind this project. Director Bernstein mentioned that he is in favor of the proposed trail, but that it shouldn’t be at the expense of private ownership. Director Bernstein had been under the impression that a lot of the landowners were in support of the project. It became apparent at the meeting that this wasn’t the case. The feasibility study will show what options there are. MOTION to Adjourn. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2008. Adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Kristin Behrens