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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRCMinutes-20081014 City of Hastings Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes City Hall Spiral Bridge Room October 14, 2008 – 6:00 pm 1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Miller, Nelson, Rohloff, Schommer, Tessmer-Tuck and Vandehoef, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein. Absent: Commissioner Smith, Superintendent Smith 2) Approved August meeting minutes. Motion by Nelson. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. 3) Setting Agenda: “Skate Park” added to Old Business by Commissioner Nelson. 4) The November meeting is currently scheduled for Veteran’s Day (11/11). Since a public meeting can not be th rescheduled for Wednesday, November 12 at 6:00 p.m. held on a holiday, the meeting will be The NRRC decided that since it is easier for staff, the meetings will be held at the Parks & Recreation building from now on. 5) Department updates were passed out and reviewed by the commissioners. Director Bernstein mentioned that the lower numbers at HFAC were weather-related. He has spoken with other communities who had similar seasons. The June bridge closure did affect our swim lessons, but we were able to make up some of the numbers later in the summer by offering bigger classes. Warming houses for this winter were reviewed. The Kennedy warming house will not be open to the general public this year. We will be using it and the Arena rink/shelter for scheduling outdoor practices. This will leave other more popular rinks/shelters for the general public. Bernstein estimated that this would save about $5,500. Staff is also planning to have fewer warming house hours available at Isabel and Wilson (Sat. & Sun. only.) Rinks will still be flooded in all the regular locations. 6) Vet’s Park Baseball Field Committee Update/Info – A group including Commissioners Schommer and Rohloff has been formed to research and improve the Vet’s baseball field. Director Bernstein has requested that the committee keep in mind that this is a community field, so Commissioner Schommer has gotten several members from the baseball community involved. A lot of the ideas are not new, and this committee is trying to gather all the ideas that have been brought forward through the years. At the committee’s meeting in September, three council members were present and requested that the committee put a plan together and have the NRRC review first and then bring it forward to City Council. A draft plan of ideas, including fundraising, was passed out to the NRRC. Schommer stated that he is hoping to have the plan completed and in front of the NRRC for review at the November meeting. The main goal is to get the field to feel like a “ballpark” instead of just a field. The fundraising plan is aggressive but there are some very good ideas. Commissioner Miller asked if there is any idea how much this will cost. Schommer stated that while the list of projects planned is still being revised, he estimates that if the entire project was paid in cash, it would cost roughly $160,000. Miller asked about Shaffer field and was told that was a school facility that is used some by HYAA as well as the high school. The baseball field at Vet’s is popular because it is the only field that is lit. Other communities have even come to use this field. Bernstein stated that there is only one youth baseball field with grass infields in the whole community located at Pioneer Park. Many of our ball fields are located in neighborhood parks which affects the residents due to the high usage. Schommer stated that one part of the fundraising plan that is being examined is the possibility of naming rights. He thinks that if it goes well with the Vet’s baseball project, that might be an avenue the City can use to complete other future projects. Bernstein stated that based on surveys and the Park Comprehensive Plan that was recently completed, there is a need for more youth ball fields. 7) Hwy 61 Update – Director Bernstein is continuing to have meetings with MNDOT along with other city staff. It is likely that the western end of the River Flats area will be used as a staging area for the bridge construction. This will close part of the river trail. MNDOT also said that they will need about 700 feet of shoreline to get equipment on/off the barges. This will require the removal of some of the scrub trees along the shoreline. Superintendent Smith has reviewed the tree removal with the MNDOT forester and agrees with the assessment. nd There is a potential that a 2 bridge will be built to the west of the current bridge. If that happens, Hudson loading dock would be removed. MNDOT would have to provide a loading dock for Hudson. MNDOT has offered some suggestions that have not been well received by the City, including using our trail system. Although nothing has been finalized, it appears likely that our entire riverfront park area will be severely impacted by the bridge construction period of 3 years. Commissioner Schommer mentioned that this will affect Rivertown Days as well due to the location of the construction. MNDOT has said that they will restore everything to its original state following the construction. The City of Hastings is planning to keep the boat launch and dock open as long as possible. 8) Levee Park/Hwy 61 Construction Committee – Last Monday, the mayor took recommendations from Councilmembers and City staff to organize a Levee Park Improvement Task Force. This committee will look to enhance the work that was already completed by the committee that Councilmember Alongi headed up. Councilmember Slavik is the chair of this new task force. The NRRC representative is Steve Miller, with Russ Rohloff being the alternate. The meetings will most likely be held once a month through February. 9) County Rd 46 Trail Corridor – Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that he, along with Kevin Smith, Nick Egger, and Tom Montgomery, recently met with Dakota County to discuss a greenway collaborative. A st potential trail was discussed which would go from Spiral Blvd along the ravine and come out on 21 where it would connect with the current Vermillion River trail. Because of the erosion control that the City is trying to do in that area, the County is considering offering to partner on this trail. The other trail opportunity that was discussed involved County Road 46 and Pleasant. Because this trail could become a regional trail, the County would fund 55% of the project. This would alleviate a lot of the safety concerns with the present trail on that roadway. The County would like to put the trail on the south side of 46 due to less homeowner impact, but staff is advocating the north side so that there would be no trail crossing over 46. st 10) Freitag Property Update – On Monday, 10/6, City Council ordered the 1 reading of an amendment to current ordinance to allow hunting on portions of the Freitag Property. The top portion of the property would be an Aquatic Management Area, where very little restoration work would be done. The southern part of the property would be a Wildlife Management Area, where hunting would be allowed with restrictions. One motivation for this change is that there is a portion of the Sand Coulee area where hunting is currently allowed. Since the City gets a lot of complaints from nearby homeowners in this area, the DNR could restrict hunting in that area and move it to the Freitag property. Current ordinance does not allow discharge of firearms or bow/arrow in city limits. A very limited number of permits would be issued by DNR and a conservation officer would be dedicated to this area. Residents that would be affected have been worked with and kept in the loop about this situation for a couple of years now. The City’s involvement is very minor – we are not buying or maintaining the property. Commissioner Miller asked if any trails would be able to go through the property. Bernstein replied that since no permanent trails (crushed rock or pavement) are allowed in a WMA, the City’s plan is to th utilize 4 Street until after the WMA property, and then use the Met Council easement to continue the trail. 11) Sponsorship and Advertising Program – Director Bernstein reviewed a second draft of the proposed Sponsorship and Advertising Program. The NRRC agreed that the new tri-fold design was good and offered suggestions as to the wording of some of the paragraphs. Commissioner Schommer thought the Sponsorship Opportunities was a good option, and asked if there might be a possibility to do an “Adopt-A-Trail” program where people could pay to adopt a portion of trail for maintenance and get a small sign recognizing their efforts. Commissioner Miller stated his opinion that “Adopt-A-_____” signs are unnecessary. Bernstein mentioned that some businesses may feel that they already pay taxes, and why should they pay more money to support Parks & Recreation. Commissioner Tessmer-Tuck stated that this program is completely voluntary and you get something in return. Miller agreed that businesses purchase advertising anyway. Schommer pointed out that this would be a tax-deductible business expense and would allow local businesses to give back to the community. Bernstein hopes that this revenue will allow us to provide more upgrades, maintenance, etc. in our parks and trails. Staff will do more research as to specific program details like size of advertising, placement, etc. and will bring it back to the NRRC. 12) Sign Request Application Form – Director Bernstein stated that he would like to get a recommendation from the NRRC to bring the Sign Request Form forward to City Council. This form would allow for organizations requesting to place signs on public property to request a variance from City Council. Current requests that have been granted are in violation of the sign ordinance, and staff is not comfortable with this situation. Currently, if our maintenance staff notices a sign in a park while they are out driving around, they contact Director Bernstein and ask if it has been authorized – if not, they pull the sign. Commissioner Schommer stated that this procedure would have to be followed by every group that wants to place a sign on public property, whether they are a City organization or private. Commissioner Nelson asked if we should limit the amount of signs that can be placed in any one location at a time, perhaps one sign allowed per location. Both Commissioners Miller & Vandehoef agreed that this would be a good idea. A procedure similar to the one used for party wagon reservations will be followed – requests can only be made for the current year, and they will be handled in a first come, first served manner. Commissioner Tessmer-Tuck questioned the high daily rate of $50 per day for a private organization request. The NRRC agreed that this cost should be reduced to a flat rate of $50 per sign. Commissioner Vandehoef asked where any revenue from these requests would go. Bernstein thought it would go into the Parks and Recreation account, but will check with Finance to make sure. Staff will make corrections to the form and will bring back to the NRRC in November for a final review. 13) New Business: None 14) Old Business: - Skate Park: Commissioner Nelson explained that he had sent an email to Dan Cater who sits on the School Board to ask about the status of the request to place the Tier 1 skate park equipment at the Middle School. This led to an email from Tim Collins with two topics that needed further discussion, liability issues and why the City wants to place it on school property as opposed to city property. Director Bernstein replied that the liability question can be handled through Joint Powers, where each party indemnifies and agrees to hold each other harmless. As to location, numerous requests have been received that the skate park would be more popular if it was in the middle of town. Also, our target audience for a Tier 1 skate park is around ages 9-14. Other sites in neighborhood parks have been investigated, but have all proved extremely unpopular with the neighborhood residents. The Middle School is a highly trafficked area and so should be less susceptible to mischief. This site is a very attractive option, as it meets a lot of our objectives. The City offered to repair the part of the parking lot area where the equipment would go and also offered to take it out before school starts and install when school ends. We have begun to advertise our tier two equipment for sale. Most callers are not interested when they find out it is tier two equipment. Director Bernstein finished by stating the Tim Collins has all of this information and that the Facilities Committee usually meets about 3 times per year. Bernstein also stated that he even offered to put security cameras up if necessary. Commissioner Nelson asked if there is any way to keep it open longer than just the summer months. Bernstein replied that his first objective is just to get the equipment in use and see how it goes. If things go well, we could maybe look at expanding the season in subsequent years. - The NRRC asked about the Joint Powers Agreement and requested that it be reviewed at the November meeting. Kristin will email the agreement to the commissioners for review. MOTION to adjourn. th Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12 at the Parks & Recreation Office. Adjourned at 7:51 p.m. Minutes submitted by Kristin Behrens