Park Commission Agenda: 05/26/2016 AGENDA REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING May 26, 2016 9:15 A.M Monticello Public Works Office To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining city parks with a high standard of quality. 1. Call to Order. 2. Approve Minutes of Regular Parks Commission Meeting from March 24, 2016. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. 4. Citizen s requests and comments. 5. Discussion of Concept shelter for Ellison Park. 6. Motion to approve 2016 the repairs and maintenance Meadow Oaks trail system. 7. Motion to approve 2016 trail connection from Wildwood way to Spirt Hills Development. 8. Motion to approve Wee Notes instrument package for West Bridge Park. 9. Discussion of Walk N Roll Parks Booth. 10. BCOL update of athletic field interim project. 11. General Park Updates. A. Otter Creek Park B. Dog Park grand opening C. Hunters Crossing D. Meadow Oaks Playground E. Par West Disc Golf F. Park Maintenance 12. Next regular meeting scheduled for July 28, 2016. 13. Motion to adjourn. 1
MINUTES PARKS COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY MARCH 24, 2016-9:15 A.M. To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining City parks with a high standard of quality. Members Present: Staff Present: Larry Nolan, Nancy McCaffrey, Jack Gregor, Brian Stumpf, Tim Stalpes, Brian Stoll Tom Pawelk, Beth Green, Kitty Baltos, Angela Schumann, Jeff O Neill 1. Call to Order. Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. Approve Minutes of Regular Parks Commission Meeting January 28, 2016. TIM STALPES MOVED TO APPROVE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 28, 2016 REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION SECONDED BY BRIAN STOLL. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 5-0. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. A. Girl and Boy Scout bird house build: Tom Pawelk said that both the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are currently working on building bluebird houses and wood duck houses which will be placed throughout out park system including Tower Park, Pioneer Park, Meadow Oak Park, Otter Creek Park, and other areas. There will be a total of 60 houses built. 4. Citizens requests and comments. Nancy McCaffrey said that she had a comment from a resident who just moved back to Monticello and he said they moved back because they love the parks in Monticello and he was happy to hear that Monticello is getting a dog park. 5. Discussion merging Parks Commission with MCC Advisory Board. Jeff O Neill said that an idea has been presented by the City Council to potentially consolidate the Parks Commission and the MCC Advisory Board into one group. One of the underlying reasons for this suggestion from the Council is to try to make an effort towards reducing city commissions to create more of a vertical Page 1 of 5
organization rather than a horizontal organization. O Neill said the idea is for the groups to become more project based and less input based and to merge some of the organizations for efficiency. O Neill distributed a list of council commission organization structures. Mayor Stumpf said that in sitting in on many meetings it was noted that there is a lot of repetitive information being discussed in the groups so Council is looking for a way to streamline things. Another idea that has come up is a Park & Recreation Board in the future. However, Mayor Stumpf noted the Parks Commission has been a very effective board and there is a lot of experience in the commission and he doesn t want to lose that. While the Bertram Chain of Lakes Advisory Council oversees the entire regional park, rules, regulations, land acquisition, etc., the Bertram Athletic Subcommittee will now dissolve so the Parks Commission will take over in making recommendations for the future athletic complex. Kitty Baltos said the MCC Board talked about it at their January meeting and noted the commonality between the two boards being the recreation side and programming. The board agreed that if there are efficiencies to be gained by joining together then they were open to discussing it. Larry Nolan and Nancy McCaffrey both expressed concerns about merging the two commissions as the Parks Commission is looking out at parks and park development and makes recommendations for such while the MCC is more internal looking at the needs of the facility. Nolan expressed concerns about being careful how things are structured so as to not lose what the Parks Commission accomplishes. Tom Pawelk agreed that things are functioning well with the Parks Commission and their recommendations to the City Council. Mayor Stumpf said he will bring the comments of the Parks Commission back to the City Council and he will recommend holding off on merging the two boards at this time but to continue to look at dual efforts in the future. 6. Motion to approve the location of new playground and future shelter at Ellison Park. Tom Pawelk reviewed a map of Ellison Park showing the location of the new playground and the future picnic shelter at Ellison Park. This will be replacing the existing rock climbing wall on the east side of the park near the wedding gazebo. Pawelk said he sees the benefit of putting a shelter in that spot which will be more cohesive with the popular wedding rental gazebo, and offer the potential for additional revenue with an added park rental shelter in this premier park. The small playground to replace the climbing wall will be put in an area just to the south of the existing climbing wall. Pawelk said this would be an open air shelter built in-house and will include electricity. Page 2 of 5
The goal is to put the playground in this year, take down the old climbing wall and do the dirt work and grading for the shelter, allowing the ground to settle for a year. Then the new shelter would be put in place in 2017. BRIAN STOLL MOVED TO RECOMMEND THE NEW LOCATION FOR THE PLAYGROUND AND BUDGETING FOR A PARK SHELTER IN 2017 TO GO IN THE AREA OF THE OLD CLIMBING WALL WHICH IS BEING REMOVED DUE TO VANDALISM. MOTION SECONDED BY TIM STALPES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 5-0. 7. Discussion of Par West Park playground updates. Tom Pawelk noted that the playground at Par West is in need of replacement and this was included in the 2016 Budget. Pawelk shared a map of the layout of the playground at Park West Park. The structure proposed includes elevated play activities and slides for ages 2-12. The equipment is on the state contract with Miracle Recreation, for $12,900 and is within budget. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO RECOMMEND THE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZE PURCHASING THE NEW PLAY EQUIPMENT FOR PAR WEST PARK AS SHOWN FROM MIRACLE RECREATION ON THE STATE CONTRACT AT A COST OF $12,900. MOTINO SECONDED BY JACK GREGOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 5-0. 8. Review additional comments for city pathway and sidewalk connections. Tom Pawelk asked if there were any additional comments from the last meeting regarding the pathway connections. Jeff O Neill said that Pawelk has done a great job inventorying the connection areas needed and preparing the plan. With no further comments or suggestions, Pawelk said he will be moving forward on the plan. 9. Discussion of Dog Park fencing. Tom Pawelk reviewed fencing options for the Dog Park with the group and indicated that the quotes will be brought to the City Council for approval at Monday evening s meeting, March 28 th. Pawelk said that the Paws for Parks Committee has raised over $12,000 towards this project and any additional funds needed will be used from the Park & Pathway Fund. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO RECOMMEND THE BLACK VINYL CHAIN LINK FENCE FROM AUTHORITY FENCE & DECK. MOTION SECONDED BY JACK GREGOR. MOTION CARIED UNANIMOUSLY, 5-0. Note: Following the Parks Commission Meeting, an additional $2,000 was donated from the Monticello Lions, bringing the total donations to over $14,000. Page 3 of 5
10. Discussion of Lions Splash Park. Item tabled until the next meeting. 11. Proposed downtown apartment project - park dedication. Angela Schumann stated there is a property owner in the downtown area who has held onto a ¾-acre parcel (at 3 rd Street & Locust Street) for over ten years and is now looking at developing a project on the site. This area is zoned for commercial but the developer at this time is looking at a residential project. The owner met with the Planning Commission about a month ago to propose a 23-unit residential apartment being marketed towards senior citizens. Schumann said the owner got relatively favorable feedback but there were concerns raised about the amount of parking on the project and some concerns about the location of the garages. Schumann said that when a new residential property is developing there is typically a plat and then the city has a right to make a recommendation for park dedication. In this case it is an existing parcel of record so there is no plat and, therefore, no park dedication. However, the Planning Commission does think it is important that they carry the streetscape and continue the look and the feel of downtown. There currently is no sidewalk connection on either side and it has been initially indicated to the developer make the sidewalk street connection all the way down 3 rd Street to Walnut Street, which is a staff recommendation. Schumann said this will go to a public hearing before the Planning Commission on April 5 th. Schumann asked for feedback from Parks Commission. She explained that typical cash in-lieu park dedication would be 11% of the value of the property so that would be approximately $13,000-$15,000, which staff sees as a reasonable request to make some improvements. The consensus from the Parks Commission is to ask the owner to make the sidewalk and streetscape consistent with a sidewalk extension to Beef O Brady s and to incorporate hardwood tree plantings for shade as this area is part of the Riverfest parade route. 12. Discussion of BCOL athletic field revised layout. Tom Pawelk reviewed and discussed the revised layout of the athletic complex, explaining that updates were made after meeting with the Baseball Association and discussing their needs and the needs of the school teams. The revised plan will be brought to the City Council at a special workshop on Monday, March 28 th. Pawelk noted that the interim improvements to meet the grant requirements will begin this summer and will include a gravel drive and parking area to the north, signage, a trail along Briarwood Avenue going south to connect into the regional Page 4 of 5
park, and a multi-use greenspace field which will be ready for play in 2017. Once the complex plan is approved, the plan is to phase the development from north to south with the entire north play area as Phase 1 as the City owns that property and is still working to acquire the middle 40 acres. The goal is to try for a 2018 build with field play ready by 2020. 12. General Park Updates. Tom Pawelk provided updates on the following parks and projects with no formal action taken at this time: A. Otter Creek Park Gazebo: The new gazebo at Otter Creek Park will have the finishing touches completed on site next week. B. Ellison Boarding Dock: The new river boarding dock at Ellison Park is slated to be installed by opening fishing provided the river levels are down appropriately. C. Hillside Cemetery wall improvements: With the 7 th Street construction, the new retaining wall was installed on the south side of Hillside Cemetery. The wall will be stained in a few weeks. The fence was reinstalled yesterday. That project will sit idle until August when the Highway 25 side will start. D. Fran Fair Garden: Mayor Stumpf said he would like to see a memorial dedication to Fran Fair for all of her work in the City over the years. Larry Nolan said there are plans at East Bridge Park to rework an area and plant trees and shrubs and include a memorial rock for Fran Fair. Nancy McCaffrey shared the proposed plans for the garden improvements. 13. Next regular meeting scheduled for May 26, 2016. The next regular Parks Commission Meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2016, at 9:15 a.m. in the Public Works Office. 14. Motion to adjourn. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN THE PARKS COMMISSION MEETING AT 10:55 A.M. MOTION SECONDED BY JACK GREGOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 5-0. RECORDED BY: DATE APPROVED: ATTEST: Page 5 of 5