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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRC Minutes 07-2005 City of Hastings NRRC Minutes July 12, 2005 6:00 pm 1)Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Christenson, Rohloff, Vandehoef, and Vaughan, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein, Superintendent Smith, City Council Members Alongi and Elling Schulz. Absent: Commissioners Brown, Popp, and O’Melia. 2)Director Bernstein announced that he had received notice that Commissioner Vieth is retiring from the NRRC. Commissioner Rohloff was introduced as the newest member of the NRRC, replacing Commissioner Vieth. 3)Approved June meeting minutes. Motion by Vaughan. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. 4)Setting Agenda: Commissioner Vaughan added two items to the agenda under “New Business”. These items were “Development” and “Park System Plan”. Commissioner Christenson added “Trails” under “Old Business”. 5)Director Bernstein handed out departmental updates to the NRRC members. Commissioner Christenson mentioned that the East Hastings Improvement Association th held their July 4 celebration, and that all went very well. The thanks of the EHIA was passed on to the Parks & Recreation Department for helping to get things ready for the celebration. Council Member Schulz mentioned that she had recently been out to the Aquatic Center and thought it was terrific! Commissioner Vaughan mentioned that his sister, who has been a lifeguard for many years, was also very impressed with the Aquatic Center here in Hastings. 6)Riverwood and South Pines Neighborhood Meetings Recap: Director Bernstein gave a th synopsis of the neighborhood meetings that were held on June 14. The South Pines Park is currently vacant. About ½ dozen neighbors attended the meeting and liked the park plan. The biggest question was “When will it be developed?” A large amount of neighbors from the Riverwood Park area attended the meeting. The neighbors were under the impression that the park plan was “set in stone” and were upset about the proposed hockey rink. There was a lot of good dialogue between the neighbors, Bruce Chamberlain, and the Parks and Recreation Staff. A compromise was reached in that the proposed hockey rink will be replaced with a skating rink. The meeting ended with the neighborhood feeling better, knowing that they had been heard and that changes were to be made to the park plan. An alternate park plan is supposed th to be delivered to Director Bernstein on July 18. The NRRC will be reviewing the proposed park plans at the next scheduled meeting on th August 9, before those plans are brought back to the community through another neighborhood meeting. Superintendent Smith mentioned that one issue at Riverwood Park is that one of the developers planted trees on park property. Signs are being posted at the border of the park alerting the residents where city property begins. Council Member Elling Schulz recommended finding out why those trees were planted there and also if the developer had approval from the City that the NRRC / Parks & Recreation Department is unaware of. 7)Old fueling dock: Director Bernstein related how he had received a letter from the U.S. Coast Guard that had been forwarded to us from Koch Refinery. The navigational lights on the abandoned fueling station on the Mississippi are not operational. The letter informed us that we have 30 days to comply with the Coast Guard’s request to have these lights fixed. Director Bernstein replied to the Coast Guard that while we do intend to comply with their request, it will take longer than 30 days. Director Bernstein mentioned that he did check, and the property does belong to the City, and also stated that we don’t believe the lights have been working since 2001. Superintendent Smith then informed the NRRC of the possible options available to us. One possibility is to remove all the structures that were part of the fueling station and dock. The cost estimate came in at $160,000. Option two is to remove the 2 barge pilings and just install lights on the main dock. The cost estimate for this option was about $75,000. The third option is to install solar powered lights on the barge pilings. The least expensive bid came in from Colt Electric for $4,287. Superintendent Smith offered his opinion that the solar powered lights would work and that the Coast Guard has given approval of this option as well. Director Bernstein expressed concern that this structure leaves exposure for the City, since the building is not very secure. Commissioner Vaughan questioned if the structure was sound. Superintendent Smith stated that the structure itself is solid, but the building would need to be redone. Commissioner Christenson questioned why Koch doesn’t pay for the repairs, since they were responsible for paying for all of the initial clean-up. Council member Alongi recommended that we have the City Attorney review the purchase agreement and make sure that the City is the one that needs to take responsibility for this issue. MOTION: Commissioner Christenson motioned that we have the City Attorney review the agreement and make sure we have to take responsibility. If we do, we should choose the best of the three solar light options listed. If we find that we don’t have to take total responsibility, this issue will be brought back before the NRRC. Commissioner Vaughan seconded the motion. Passed unanimously. 8)Levee Park Trail Lighting: Director Bernstein explained that at the present time, we have 12 light poles between Sibley & Hudson that have been removed due to vandalism. A memo from Xcel Energy was passed out that explains the necessary investment to replace the lighting along the trail at Levee Park. There are three examples of replacement lighting. Per a council member’s request, Director Bernstein investigated the possibility of period lighting to give the riverfront more character. Director also mentioned that he had talked with John Grossman, to see if there was a possibility to upgrade the lighting when the esplanade is constructed. Director Bernstein also mentioned that because there has been so much vandalism with the lights, Xcel Energy has slowed down their efforts to replace the lights when they are broken. Superintendent Smith mentioned that aluminum poles are still susceptible to vandalism, but it is more difficult. Council member Alongi recommended that we go with the “Acorn” style and see if John Grossman would use that same style, so as to foster continuity in the city. Commissioner Vaughan asked where the money would be coming from to replace these lights. Director Bernstein isn’t sure if this is something that can be accomplished in 2005 or something that will need to be addressed in 2006. MOTION: Commissioner Christenson motioned that this issue be tables until the th NRRC’s next meeting on August 9. Seconded by Commissioner Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. 9)Budget: A presentation was made of the 2006 Capital Improvement Plan for the Parks and Recreation Department. Items discussed included Office Supplies and Equipment, Vehicles and Equipment, Facility Improvements, and other miscellaneous items. The objective of the Capital Improvement plan is to be able to help forecast and plan costs over the next year. 10)New Business: -Park System Plan: Commissioner Vaughan wondered if we should update our park systems plan, as he believed it had last been done in 1991. Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that the last comprehensive parks plan was done in 1999. A new plan is on the Capital Improvement Plan for 2008. The plan for Riverwood Park was done in 1991, which is what led to the confusion about the age of our park systems plan. -Development: Commissioner Vaughan questioned whether or not the NRRC should review all development plans for the city before they are approved. By doing this, we could possibly avoid a situation like the one that happened with the development behind Cub Foods. In that instance, the plan was approved before the NRRC was able to review the park dedication fees. Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that he and Superintendent Smith do attend the development meetings – Kevin as the forestry representative, and Barry as the NRRC representative. 11)Old Business: -Trails: Commissioner Christenson requested that the trail along the Vermillion River be fixed. Director Bernstein explained that this trail is included in the bituminous study that was recently completed. -Band shell: A question was raised as to the status of the band shell project along the Mississippi River. Director Bernstein mentioned that John Grossman is taking the lead on that project as part of the Levee Park Redevelopment. The NRRC will be given an opportunity to provide input in the future. MOTION to Adjourn. th Next meeting scheduled for August 9 at 6 p.m. Adjourned at 8:24 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Kristin Behrens