CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2015 ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Acting Chair Straumann called the October 20, 2015, meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:31 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Acting Chair Rich Straumann and Committee Members Steve Scott, Harold Petersen, Chuck Michaelson, and John Van Valkenburg OTHERS PRESENT: Councilmember Brenda Holden (arrived at 7:15 pm), Staff Liaison Sara Grant, Recreation Programmer Aaron Thelen, and Arden Hills residents Bob Mullen, Keri Bloyer and Josh Bloyer ABSENT: Committee Member Nancy O Malley 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Acting Chair Straumann requested a Floral Park update from Bob Mullen under Unfinished Business. MOTION: Acting Chair Straumann motioned to approve the agenda. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES September 15, 2015 Committee Member Van Valkenburg asked that clarification be noted in the minutes regarding the possible relocation of the dog park from Hazelnut to Perry Park next year. MOTION: Acting Chair Straumann motioned to approve the September 15, 2015, minutes as amended and seconded by the Committee members. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 3. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Park Tour Compiled Results At the request of Committee Member Michaelson at the September PTRC meeting, Staff Liaison Grant provided an update regarding park action items. Those items that have been completed were highlighted in yellow on a list that she provided. A discussion ensued regarding each park location and the items that remain to be completed, some of which are common maintenance items, and those that are former and more recent requests. The Committee agreed they will discuss the list of items they desire at each park location with the City Council or the new Public Works Director, once hired.
Page 2 B. Rice Creek Commons Park amenities Acting Chair Straumann asked that a written list be created to track the various amenities the Committee will be requesting in the Rice Creek Commons area. He outlined for resident guests Keri and Josh Bloyer where Rice Creek Commons is located on a map and detailed the map features to help familiarize them with the area being discussed. Acting Chair Straumann stated the Committee would like to have trails connecting the parks and noted the park locations have not yet been officially determined. He indicated at present the parks have been broken down into the following areas: the creek area, the hill area which will have two parks, and the Town Center area. Acting Chair Straumann directed everyone to the green area of the map and stated the indicated trails will definitely be included at this location. He then noted the Committee discussed their recommendations for amenities at the last meeting and would now revisit those recommendations based on what Arden Hills would need as a whole. Councilmember Holden questioned the need for adult softball fields as it was her understanding this was not necessary. Acting Chair Straumann stated that the fields would be more of a multi-use type field. Staff Liaison Grant indicated this would be similar to the multi-use field located at Cummings Park where the youth soccer field is in the outfield of the ball field. Acting Chair Straumann listed the following amenities for the creek area: A playground in a residential area A half-court basketball court A multi-use field Councilmember Holden asked for clarification regarding the playground structures as they would pertain to youth and seniors. Staff Liaison Grant stated that at the training she and Recreation Staff Member Thelen recently attended, it was discussed how playground equipment can also be used by adults as exercise equipment. She said that the City of Plymouth provided pictures of adults using playground equipment for various exercises. Committee Member Van Valkenburg asked that more information regarding this option be provided at the next PTRC meeting. A short discussion ensued about the types of structures that would be needed to accommodate the various age groups that would utilize the new playground equipment. The discussion proceeded to the east side of the green area. Councilmember Holden indicated it was her understanding a shelter would be built in this area.
Page 3 A short discussion then ensued about the need for a parking lot as well as playground equipment and a splash pad as this would be beneficial for families with young children. Staff Liaison Grant stated the area should have a half-court basketball and tennis courts side by side. Councilmember Holden asked about pickle ball courts and stated pickle ball lines should be added to all existing and new tennis courts. Acting Chair Straumann requested Staff Liaison Grant provide clarification regarding overall parking. Committee Member Michaelson said there would be three basketball courts total in the development area. He asked for clarification about the play structure on Attachment B and questioned when the plans were scrubbed, were the items that were going to be provided also eliminated? Acting Chair Straumann reiterated there will now be two parks in the hill area which will be similar and yet have amenities of the initial park that was eliminated. The two parks will have a different focus based on the population expected in the area. Councilmember Holden stated at one point, it was discussed that a small ice skating rink would be built in the Town Center area which would prompt the need for a facility to be built that could be rented out. She stated it is her hope that a structure similar to the Perry Park structure would be built somewhere in one of the Rice Creek Commons parks. A short discussion ensued about how the new structure could be utilized (warming house, changing rooms, bathrooms, showers). Acting Chair Straumann stated that for the list Committee Member Michaelson is creating, the group should be able to indicate, for example, We need one of this. Committee Member Michaelson stated he was keeping a list of the total items desired but would then like to indicate, for example, For this development, we want three softball fields, in total. Acting Chair Straumann asked Councilmember Holden to clarify what kind of control the Committee will have and asked if the group would work closely with the developer. Councilmember Holden stated the park on the north end will stay there as that will be an actual City park, and the Committee will be able to determine what amenities will be implemented there. She said other than the wetland area, the other parks are negotiable as far as function and location. Committee Member Michaelson said it makes sense to him to keep track of how many of each item the Committee wants to have in the whole area and then start wiggling around where the amenities might go -- in total.
Page 4 Acting Chair Straumann commented that the draft of this list was supposed to come out of the minutes last time, and basically did not come out of the minutes. A discussion then ensued regarding potential options once the park locations are officially determined. Various options discussed included playground structures, types of fields, a pavilion, and additional shelters. Councilmember Holden asked about thinking outside the box and mentioned a potential skate park. Recreation Staff Member Thelen stated Shoreview has a skate park. Staff Liaison Grant indicated that skate parks are not as popular as they once were, but she would get stats. It was again noted Committee Member Michaelson is keeping a list of the desired amenities at the various locations. Councilmember Holden noted a common complaint is lack of parking. A discussion ensued about desired parking locations and configurations. Acting Chair Straumann summarized Committee Member Michaelson s notes as follows: Half or full basketball court in each area Ball field or soccer field or some kind of multi-use in each area Splash pad someplace most likely downtown Picnic shelters in every area A pavilion in at least one area Open space (per Sara) not necessarily a field call it green space Tennis courts 2 overall (possibly 2 single courts or 2 next to each other) Play structures 3 (or 4?) Councilmember Holden questioned the number of fields in the community park area as everything would not fit in the three acres allotted for that park. She also asked about archery due to growing popularity following the Hunger Games. Resident guest Keri Bloyer asked about the possibility of a sand volleyball court being part of a multi-use field. It was discussed that volleyball could be used at other locations as well, whether sand, grass or a hard surface court. C. Arden Hills, Rice Creek Commons, and Ramsey County Trail Updates (Rich Straumann) Acting Chair Straumann provided information regarding a 1975 study conducted by Ramsey County. He indicated that many of the planned trails have been built and referenced the map. He stated a 2015 study by Ramsey County that included infrastructure, community engagement, funding, and a legal aspect was also conducted. Acting Chair Straumann referenced the map features to familiarize the group with the study s objective. He said the goal is to have a major connector or road at least every
Page 5 mile. He also said identified needs, whether major or minor, which resulted from the study but were not necessarily planned should be implemented as well. Acting Chair Straumann directed the Committee to the Arden Hills map and outlined the County s anticipated work in the area, which includes cross country skiing and trails that will lead to neighboring communities. He also provided an overview of the T1, T2 and T3 areas in relation to the County s study. It should be noted the meeting s audio ended here (one hour and seven minutes into the meeting). The subsequent minutes hereafter are provided courtesy of Recreation Staff Member Thelen. D. Other Unfinished Business Guest resident Bob Mullen provided a Floral Park update. He shared the details of how the gardens are coming along. Extra dirt was delivered a few weeks ago to help with leveling and grooming the gardens. He said there were a few other neighbors that are willing to help with the gardens in the future, such as George Kruse and Kris Anderson. Bob said the gardens look great, butterflies have been visiting, and the flowers bloomed very well this year! He predicts that around the end of July 2016 the gardens will fully blossom. Bob mentioned he has 3-4 large rocks/boulders in his yard that he would like to drop off at Floral Park that can be used for decoration. He asked Staff Liaison Grant if Public Works would be able to pick up the rocks and deliver them to the park. Staff Liaison Grant will talk to Joe Mooney to see how soon this can be done. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Push light at Cummings Park Ice Rink Staff Liaison Grant indicated a push light will be added to Cummings Park for the winter ice skating season. She said other cities such as Eagan use push lights for their outdoor rinks but do not have their warming house open during this time. She indicated we will probably do the same. She also said that push lights will significantly lower the cost for operating this rink since the number of participants is lower at this location, as evidenced by a document she provided. Staff Liaison Grant also said a rink attendant would be on duty only on the busiest days, which are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, so this will further reduce the cost to the City. Recreation Staff Member Thelen described the details of a push light and said its operating hours would be during normal skating hours, which are 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm. The button would be located on the outside of the pavilion and when someone pushes the button, the lights turn on. A timer can be set for the light to turn off after one hour. If someone wants to continue skating, they can push the button to turn the light on for another hour. The lights will then turn off automatically at 10:00 pm no matter what.
Page 6 Staff Liaison Grant said the push light will be tested this winter at Cummings Park to determine how beneficial it is. We will then look at the possibility of installing this feature at other parks in the future. This also is an option for lights on the tennis courts in the summer. B. Any Other New Business It was suggested and agreed upon that a PTRC meeting will be held outside at one of the parks next summer. 5. REPORTS A. City Council Report B. Public Works/Parks & Recreation Report ADJOURNMENT MOTION: A Committee Member moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. This was seconded and the motion carried unanimously (5-0). NEXT MEETING The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, November 17 th at 6:30 p.m.