Loading...
7.2. PRSR 11-13-2013 i hi 1 Request for Action River To Item Number Parks and Recreation Commission 7.2 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Action Item November 13, 2013 Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director Item Description Reviewed by Orono Athletic Complex Renaming Recommendation Reviewed by • Action Requested City staff recommends that the Parks and Recreation Commission consider renaming the Orono Athletic Complex to the Dave Anderson Athletic Complex as outlined in the Parks and Facilities Naming Policy Procedures. Background/Discussion As stated in the Parks and Facilities Naming Policy, renaming of parks and facilities requires a submission in writing to the Parks and Recreation Commission, through the Parks and Recreation Department. A request from John Dietz is attached. Staff has reviewed the request and recommend that it move forward to the Parks and Recreation Commission for review based on its strict adherence to the stated criteria in the policy. The contributions that Dave Anderson has made to the city's park system are tremendous and unparalleled in comparison. Dave has spent the past 30-years volunteering thousands of hours creating,improving and maintaining our park system. If the Parks and Recreation Commission recommends to move forward with this request, a public notice requesting a public meeting for renaming shall be posted and published in the local paper at least 10-days prior to the meeting. The Commission may recommend this request with the proper public notice for its next meeting this December 11. It will then be forwarded to City Council for final decision. Financial Impact None at this time. Possibly the cost of installing signs with the new name. Attachments • Submission request to rename Orono Athletic Complex • Parks & Facilities Naming Policy PON [ OEO ey NATURE • • • October 22, 2013 • • Michael Hecker, Director Elk River Park and Recreation Department 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River MN 55330 Proposed Name Change of a Current Elk River Park Current Name: Orono Softball Complex Proposed Name: Dave Anderson Athletic Complex Attached is written documentation of the volunteer efforts of Dave Anderson in the City of Elk River. Almost all of these volunteer activities were related to Park and Recreation activities. Dave has spent thousands of hours creating, improving and maintaining our park system. The Orono Softball Complex was one of Dave's pet projects. He helped develop it into one of the top softball facilities in the metro area. (See attachment for details of Orono improvments). You cannot help but be overwhelmed when reading all the projects Dave has accomplished in the last 30 years to help make our park system what it is today. His wife, Eileen,can vouch for the attached information, but I don't think that will be • necessary. I can vouch for all the things Dave has done. There are plenty of other Elk River citizens who could do the same. His level of volunteer effort justifies naming an Elk River park after him—and not waiting until he is deceased to do it. I respectfully ask that you forward my request on to the Park and Recreation Commission for their approval and then on to the City Council for consideration. Thank you for your time. sincerely, • John J. Dietz 13319 Riverview Drive Elk River MN 55330 Dave Anderson Volunteer Resume Elk River Park and Recreation Commission 1987-present My years on the Commission have seen a lot of changes in its role within City government. From a simple beginning where one of our earlier major projects was having a contest that resulted in the naming of Woodland Trails Park we have come a long way to currently being a very strong, well-balanced group that plays an important role in recreation activities and in the identification, protection and development of Parks in the City of Elk River. Accomplishments of the Commission during my tenure of which I am most proud include: Planning During my 26 years on the commission we developed a Park Master plan and have since revised it twice. Park acquisition and development Since 1987 we have guided the City through over$7,000,000 dollars in acquisition and development of City Parks, starting with only a handful of parks and less than 50 acres of parkland to comprehensive City wide system comprised of 45 parks and over 1000 acres of parkland. Trail development Since 1987 we have guided the City in the development of a network of over 40 miles of paved trails. Land Acquisition As a part of the development of our park system there have been several key land acquisitions that the commission was instrumental in securing. Acquisition of the abandoned Burlington Northern Railroad (currently known as the Great Northern Trail), which has become the spine of our trail system and a corridor for park land acquisition for the expansion of Woodland Trails Park. Dedication of 50 acres of property from a local gravel mining company, which is currently a part of Woodland Trails park complex and adjacent to the Great Northern Trail. Acquisition of 30 acres of wooded, terminal moraine attached to the above 50 acres and part of Woodland Trails. Acquisition of 78 acres of woods and wetlands attached to 50 acres mentioned above and part of Woodland Trails. Acquisition of 18 acres of woods and open field attached to the 30 acres mentioned above and part of Woodland Trails. Saving 10 acres of mature white oak trees, located south of the Fair Grounds, from development, for use as the Oak Savannah City Park. Acquisition of the 25 acres of natural area where the Elk River meets the Mississippi know as Bailey Point Nature Preserve Sherburne County Park Commission 1992-2002 I helped found this commission as a part of a process that started in 1992 with the formation of a Park Committee and was its chairman for 7 years. Most important accomplishments while on the Commission include: We started the process to re-acquire the abandoned Burlington Northern Railroad from Elk River to Princeton that was lost to private ownership because the County did not want to purchase it at the same time that the City of Elk River was able to acquire their portion. Realistically we will only be able to get about 75% of the grade back, it will take decades and will cost between 50 and 100 times what it would of if it had been purchased when it was abandoned. We developed and won approval of a modest Park plan in 1997. We established a park dedication fee. 0 Help in convince the County to accept virtually free land from the Cox family in Becker. Worked on the acquisition of the Grams Property in Zimmerman. Volunteer Supporter of Youth through Athletics Elk River Youth Hockey Coach 1972 — 1973 TRSA Youth Soccer Coach 1981 — 1991 Elk River Girls Youth Volleyball 1988 — 1989 Founded girls youth volleyball program and ran it for the first two years. Elk River Youth Football 1987-1997 I worked with ER Youth football to establish playing fields at the lighted Orono Softball Complex, including painting, annual field layout and weekly line painting. Serving Youth in the Community Cub Scout Den Leader and 1984 — 1987 Assistant Pack Leader for Pack 111 Assistant Scout Master for Troop 99 1987 — 1990 Work to Learn Program 1997 - 2001 Site Coordinator J • • Eagle Scout Project • Community Contact • For the last several years I have had the privilege to work with several Eagle Candidates in Elk River by identifying potential projects and acting as recourse for those projects and assisting in the work on those projects. To date I have worked with 20 Eagle candidates. 14 have earned • their Eagle Rank, 5 are in progress will earn their Eagle Ranking before the end of the year and the 20th wimped out because his project was too hard. Projects include: Natural prairie restoration in Camp Cozy Park. This project included securing the park against ATV trespass by installing fencing and gates. Natural prairie restoration at the I-landke Stadium Ski trail signage at Woodlands 1992 Ski trail signage at Woodland Trails Park 2012 Winter walking trail signage at Woodland Trails Park New winter walking trail development at Woodland Trails Park Mile markers on the Great Northern Trail Savannah restoration along the Great Northern Trail • • Bridge across County Ditch 31 in Woodland Trails Park • Restoration of native shrubs in Oak Savannah Park Woodland Trails Park entrance sign landscaping • Mallard nesting boxes in Woodland Trails Park • Grilling shed at the Elk River Softball Complex • Ticket booth at the Elk River Softball Complex Native Prairie Restoration at Meadowvale Elementary • Clearing and native plant seeding at the Joplin and Orono Rd retention pond Juvenile STS Crew 1995 - 2005 1 was involved in several community projects, mostly in parks, with the Sherburne County Juvenile STS leader and crew. Volunteer Supporter of Adult Sports Adult Men's and Women's Softball 1985 - 1998 League president Adult Men's Tennis 1978 - 1980 League president Adult Women's Tennis 1979— 1980 Founded league and league president Adult Men's Volleyball 1987 — 1989 League President Adult Coed Soccer 1986 - 1989 Founded and ran informal league • c . Community Service Developed Orono Softball Complex 1985— 2002 • • Designed, coordinated construction and arranged donated labor and materials and secured funds for: Shelter building Concessions Building Concessions building equipment, ice machine, gas grill, popcorn popper, nacho machine and misc. fry pans and coffee pots. Outfield lighting including underground wiring, poles, lights and control panel. Electronic scoreboards and controls Maintenance building and storage shed and tournament H.Q Children's sheltered play area • Redesigned infields for proper drainage Repositioned infields to increase the distance from home plate to the outfield fence and reinstalled base pegs and pitching rubbers Created 15"agricultural lime buffer outside outfield fence to reduce maintenance • • • Planted red pine screening south of complex Backstop net installation • PA system Drinking fountain Eagle Projects for ticket booth and grilling shed The above improvements were paid for by donations, the Boy Scouts and Adult softball • and only $3000 from the City of Elk River. The approximate value is $250,000. • • U Managed Orono Softball Complex 1985 - 2001 In addition to developing the complex, I managed the maintenance of all of the items on the previous page plus the following: Coordinated infield maintenance, including hiring maintenance workers, setting standards for infield maintenance, developed outfield line painting system that was used until 1997, warning track and complex weed control, building staining, annual infield overhaul, and fence tying. Tournament Scheduling 1985 - 2002 I scheduled up to 10 Tournaments each year that are hosted by various local youth groups as fundraisers to help support their programs. These tournaments also bring in 100's of thousands of dollars into the ER area economy each year, which is also good for the community. Managed Orono Complex Concessions 1987— 2001 The current concessions business started as a fund raiser for Boy Scout Troop 99. Troop members were instrumental in the construction and development of the concessions business. It has been used by several Boy Scout Troops,various youth groups, and Elk River Softball, As mentioned above, it was also used by youth groups during fund raising tournaments. Management included, ordering inventory,purchasing equipment,working with vendor contracts, locating and training groups to run the concessions 4 to 6 days per week from approximately May 1 S' until October 15th, selecting and training groups to run fund raising tournaments. Woodland Trails Park volunteer My volunteer work in Woodland Trails Park started in 1988 with the clearing of trees and brush for a small cross-country ski trail system in the park. We used my Ford tractor and brush mower to clear and maintain the trails. The next year I disked and seeded the trails. Other major projects include: I organized crews of volunteers off and on for most of a summer after the trails were paved in the park, to place dirt along the trail edges and seed them. This was a major under taking that involved hundreds of volunteer hours, but the result was fantastic. For the last 25 years I have been active in native vegetation improvements in the park. We have currently restored or reconstructed 6 sites within the park totaling about 20 acres. These projects include site preparation, seeding, two or three mowings during the first year after seeding, watering to promote germination and to prevent loss of young plants, and hand weed removal. Each spring I lead volunteer crews that conduct prairie burns on portions of these e • areas to help maintain them. Each fall we hand collect seed to use in other restoration projects in • and out of the park. • • In 2001 and 2002 I planted and maintained 250 trees and shrubs in the park in an effort to screen the new development at the golf course from the park. Since 2010, I have coordinated the mulch and black dirt for the planting of 500 seedlings in the park. Other projects include annual trail mowing for summer events,park and trails signing, and fencing to control unauthorized access. Cross Country Ski Trails 1988 - present Since starting cross country ski trails in Woodland Trails Park in 1988, I have lead volunteer crews that have built and maintained 20 km of ski trails and 5 km of winter walking trails in Woodland Trials Park, the Great Northern Railroad Trail, Top-of-the-World Park, the Elk River Country Club and adjoining private land. Annually this volunteer crew logs between 2000 and 3000 hours. Each spring from 1988 to 1999 we would work 6 to 8 weekends clearing a new segment of trail. This past spring we added another km to our system. I mow the trails each week throughout the summer and coordinate volunteers that remove downed trees, branches and trail edge brush and dig newly exposed rocks and fill in the holes with soil. Since 1998 we have been leveling and reseeding sections of the previously built trail to improve them for low snow skiing conditions. • Each winter since 1995 I have coordinated a volunteer crew that grooms the trails for cross • country skiing. This effort includes making most of our own grooming equipment, and until 2002 it included snowmobile maintenance. Because of our proximity to the metro area, and because of the quality of our trails and grooming, our ski trail system is rapidly gaining a reputation as being one of the best in the area. A local pole ranked our trail system 4th' in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area in 2001-2002. This ranking was above all of the metro ski areas, including the Hennepin County Parks. • I currently volunteer about 1000 hours each year in Woodlands. • • Elk River Biathlon Range Starting in 1993, I organized a group of volunteers that worked with Minnesota Biathlon and the USBA to build what at the time was one of only two Biathlon ranges in Minnesota. Since then we have continued to make annual improvements to range. A considerable volunteer effort was put into tree removal, site preparation, designing and construction of environmentally friendly "lead catching" target boxes, target installation, trail building, mowing and landscaping. • 1 was very proud to see our local athletes competing for spots on the 2002, 2006 and 2010 US Olympic Biathlon Teams. Although only 2 have made the team, many more were very close and are among the elite biathletes in the nation. Native Prairie Restoration My latest passion is the restoration and reconstruction of micro native plant communities throughout the City. As mentioned in the section on Woodland trails, I have been working on small native prairies since the mid 90's. Currently, these projects have become a major focus for my volunteer efforts. In addition to the projects at Woodlands, I am currently working on sites at Oak Savannah Park south of the Fair Grounds, the Welcome to Elk River sign site along Highway 10 near Orono Park, Oak Knoll Park, The Great Northern Trail near Meadowvale School, Handke Stadium, Ivan Sand School, and Camp Cozy Park. Restoration of the sites includes site preparation, seeding using a drill that we borrow from the State Highway Department, hand planting, mowing to control weeds during the first growing season, watering to improve plant germination and survival during the first growing season, and hand gathering of seeds to keep the project costs down. Each spring, I organize volunteers to help burn several of these sites on a rotating basis as a • management tool to control cool season grasses, non-native pants and woody vegetation. These burns are coordinated with the Elk River Fire Department and the DNR for safety. The Elk River fire Department also uses the as a training exercise for their volunteers and equipment. The goal of these projects is to provide the community with low maintenance areas, having high • aesthetic qualities that will last and improve for generations. • • Bailey Point Nature Preserve • This summer I have spent considerable time coordinating supplies and volunteering in the initial development of Bailey Point Nature Preserve. This includes weekly mowing of the trails and area around the parking lot. • • • Hockey Day MN 2014 • • I am currently the facilities co-chair for the upcoming MN Hockey Day that is being held in Handke Stadium in Elk River on January 18°i. • • • S Elk tParks & Facilities Naming Policy River Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to establish a systematic and consistent approach for the official naming of parks and recreation areas and facilities. Objectives: • Ensure that parks, recreational areas and facilities are easily identified &located. • Ensure that given names to parks, recreational area and facilities are consistent with the values and character of the area or neighborhood served. • Encourage public participation in the naming, renaming and dedication of parks, recreation areas and facilities. • Encourages the dedication of lands, facilities, or donations by individuals and/or groups. Definition: Parks,recreation areas and facilities—includes all property assets under the City's ownership and the Parks and Recreation Department control including buildings, structures, open spaces, public parks, natural areas,wetlands, environmental habitat and land. Naming Criteria Priorities to be considered in naming all city facilities,including parks and recreation facilities (in order of importance) shall be as follows: A. Historic Names. Names of historic events,groups organizations, or persons at the local, regional,or national level of major significance with special consideration given to Elk River's own history. B. Places and Feature Names. 1. Recognizable area or neighborhood. Names that aid in locating a facility are acceptable. If the facility is located on a park or school site, the facility need not share the name of the park or school site. 2. Assumed Names. Assumed names should be used only if the area has been known by that assumed name for an extended period of time. For example, the parcel of land known for decades as `Bailey Point,"located near downtown at the south end of Morton Avenue at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. 3. Natural Features. Natural features, such as rivers, creeks, and terrain. 4. Horticultural Features. Horticultural features characteristic of a particular area. C. Individual. Groups. or Organizations. The following criteria will be used in evaluating the use of names of persons (whether living or deceased),groups, and organizations. 1. General Criteria. Names of persons,groups, or organizations having a longstanding affiliation with the City of ten (10) or more years of significant community service,involvement, or contributions beyond the ordinary interest level whose efforts have: a. Enhanced the quality of life and well-being of city residents; b. Contributed to the preservation of the city's history or culture; c. Made exemplary or meritorious contributions to the city or its residents; or d. Contributed to the acquisition, development,or conveyance of land, buildings, structures, or other amenities to the city or community. 2. Deceased Persons. To be considered for a naming opportunity, the individual must have been deceased for at least two (2) years. Such individuals may include: a. Historic persons. b. National and/or local heroes. Those who have given outstanding service to mankind or who have worked over and above any ordinary interest level. An Elk River area resident,who has attained local, state, or national recognition for parks and recreation work or work in the areas of public safety or public health, as appropriate to the facility,would be highly acceptable. 3. Living Persons. Facilities may be named after living persons only after a study has been completed relative to the individual's background and qualifications pursuant to the criteria in this policy. 4. Groups and Organizations. Facilities may be named after groups or organizations pursuant to the criteria set forth in this policy. 2 Procedure: A. Naming of Parks, Recreation Areas and Facilities 1. A request for naming of a park,recreation area or facility shall be submitted in writing to the Parks and Recreation Commission, through the Parks and Recreation Department. 2. Those submitting a naming request should show how the proposed name is consistent with the criteria stated in this policy. When naming after a person or persons, the application will describe the contributions to the city. Written documentation of approval by next of kin to be honored (if available/possible) is required as part of the proposal. City staff will review the proposal for adherence to the stated criteria and authentication of statements relative to contributions in the case of an individual before forwarding to the Parks and Recreation Commission. If the request is incomplete, staff will contact the applicant,in writing, and provide them with the opportunity to resubmit a revised request. 3. The Parks and Recreation Commission will offer the opportunity for public input on the proposed naming. A notice requesting a public meeting for naming of a park,recreation area or facility shall be posted and published in the city's official newspaper at least 10 days prior to the meeting. 4. The Parks and Recreation Commission shall forward their recommendation to City Council for final decision. 5. The Parks and Recreation Commission can initiate the naming process whenever deemed necessary and/or in the best interest of the city. 6. In the absence of any naming requests, the Parks Recreation and Commission shall adhere to criteria stated in this policy in recommendation of name. B. Renaming of Parks, Recreation Areas and Facilities Renaming of parks, recreation areas and facilities carries with it a much greater burden of process compared to initial naming. Tradition and continuity of name and community identification are important community values. Each application must meet the criteria in this policy, but meeting all criteria does not ensure renaming. 1. A request for renaming of a park,recreational area or facility shall be submitted in writing to the Parks and Recreation Commission, through the Parks and Recreation Department. 2. The request shall include the proposed name change, the purpose of the change, and how the proposed name change is consistent with the criteria established. When renaming after a person or persons, the application will describe the contributions to the city. Written documentation approval by next of kin to be 3 honored (if available/possible) is required as part of the proposal. City staff will review the proposal for adherence to the stated criteria and authentication of statements relative to contributions in the case of an individual before forwarding to the Parks and Recreation Commission. If the request is incomplete, staff will contact the applicant,in writing,and provide them with the opportunity to resubmit a revised request. 3. The recognized Neighborhood Association will be notified of the proposal when the Parks and Recreation Department receive a complete application. 4. The Parks and Recreation Commission will offer the opportunity for public input on the proposed naming. A notice requesting a public meeting for naming of a park,recreation area or facility shall be posted and published in the city's official newspaper at least 10 days prior to the meeting. 5. The Parks and Recreation Commission shall forward their recommendation to City Council for final decision. • 4 POLICY REVIEW HISTORY PARKS AND FACILITY NAMING POLICY Approved by City Council November 19, 2012. 5