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11-17-2015 PR MIN City of Special Meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Elks Held at the Elk River City Hall River Tuesday, November 17, 2015 Members Present: Chair Anderson, Commission members Ahlness,Holmgren, Kallemeyn,Nystrom,Niziolek, and Sagan Council T.iaison: Ms.Wagner Staff Present: Parks and Recreation Director,Michael Hecker,Parks and Recreation Manager, Steve Benoit,Recreation Coordinator,Tonya Love, and Communications Coordinator,Rae Ann Gardner I. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Anderson. 2. Eagle Scout Projects Presentation Mr. Benoit introduced the Eagle Scouts presenting their projects. 1111 Nick Sink,created a 0.16 mile long trail extension at Bailey Point Nature Preserve. Trent Modeen, created a stairway and side access trail to access the Great Northern Trail. The side access trail is for bicyclists and handicap access at the Vernon cul-de- sac. David Waldron, created and built the Rice Lake Scenic Overlook deck. Zachary Johnson,restored the Bailey Point Nature Preserve maintenance shed. Conner Armstrong,restored part of the Handke Stadium wall to prevent further erosion. Charlie Blesener, acknowledged Conner's work at Handke Stadium, stating that it is a remarkable transformation. Dillon Earl,restored a partial area of riverbank at Bailey Point Nature Preserve. Eric Toth,Bailey Point Nature Preserve Park Steward,recognized and thanked all the Boy Scouts tonight for their work. Mr. Hecker acknowledged and thanked the Boy Scouts for their hard work on all the • different projects. Parks&Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 November 17,2015 3. Discuss City Wayfinding Master Plan ill Ms. Gardner presented her staff report. Stating that the Wayfinding Master Plan is a long term, all-encompassing plan,which fits within the 2014 City Council beautification goals. Sharing examples of the signage created by Visual Connections. Council member Wagner stated the City Council is looking for design direction to then go out get pricing through the RFP process.Asking for commission's recommendation as to what type of signs are preferred for the parks. Commissioner Anderson shared that he sent drawings to a sign company to get an idea of cost. The park entrance signs were around$22,000. Mr. Hecker reminded the Commission that there may be other funding sources besides the park improvement fund. Council member Wagner shared that the parks signs benefit the whole community, and the signs would be covered by other budget line options. Commissioner Niziolek expressed caution to not install too many directional signs, due to the technology people have access to on their smartphones. Commissioner Anderson stated he thought the public would be better served by an electronic app to get to the parks. III Commissioner Niziolek stated he was nervous about a huge investments into signs and wants to keep the cost to a minimum. Commissioner Anderson expressed that no matter where the money comes from it is still$22,000 and makes it not available for something else. Strive for quality,but what it costs should be part of the decision making process. Commissioner members discussed field stone options. Council member Wagner shared that staff is looking for design direction to get rfp's. Mr. Hecker shared that the new Parks Superintendent,Tim Sevcik is excited about the wayfinding plan as it will help bring more people into the parks. The signs are an effort to make things easier for community and visitors in finding our parks. Ms. Gardner explained that the wayfinding plan builds on the branding the city did many years ago and that the signs are cohesive design. Commissioner Anderson asked for what commission members want in the signs. Commissioner Niziolek expressed they should be field stone,Handke Stadium is a III beautiful place with the field stone. PO / EOEI it INATUREI Parks&Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 November 17,2015 • Commission agreed to wanting Field Stone Commission members discussed vertical versus horizontal type signs, durability, aesthetics, and landscaping around the sings. Holmgren has an issue with no"City of Elk River" on the sign. It only has the river lines. Commissioner Anderson stated he was in favor of wayfinding,not sure about the powered by nature logo. Will it last as long as the parks last?The international symbols are needed. Commissioners agreed that they would like to have city logo or City of Elk River on sign,people may not realize they are in city when at YAC and not to use the Powered by Nature logo.They also prefer to have the word"park"in sign title. Commission members prefer horizontal signs and shared concern over the use of aluminum. Commissioner Anderson stated he would like a rustic looking sign when he sees park, sharing that he doesn't want a shopping center style sign. • Commissioner Niziolek expressed that there could be a different sign for conservation areas and encouraged a common element within the signs but have a rustic element for William H. Houlton Conservation Area. Commissioner Anderson stated that if the commission wants a$10,000 sign versus a $20,000 sign then having Visual Connections doing a redesign for$10,000 than we have saved on the first sign. Commissioners agreed to recommend the following for the primary park sign • Remove Powered by Nature language • Include city logo or"City of Elk River" on the main body of the sign • Remove the aluminum base. Support the sign with two field stone columns, two concrete posts or one of each. • Move international symbols to the main body of the sign • Remove the blue waves element • When not in a mowed landscape, the elevation of the main body of the sign should be a minimum of 42 inches. Native landscaping is preferred for most park settings. • Add park address to the main body of the park sign • Preference is to use natural field stone as opposed to cultured stone or cut field stone. • Commissioner Anderson stated that the secondary sign would be better served with "City of Elk River" or logo instead of waves. 10IEfEa IT [NATURE Parks&Recreation Commission Minutes Page 4 November 17,2015 Sue Seeger,Hillside City Park Trail Steward expressed appreciation that Hillside City III Park is a Signature park in the Master Park Plan. Stating that the sign may be too large for the entrance of Hillside City Park. Users tend to find the park by their phones so the sign is not used to locate the park as much as a marker. The kiosk design would not work with the location of trail head and parking lot. Ms. Seeger stated the she would like the sign to say"Hillside Mountain Bike Park or Trail". Commissioner Anderson expressed his concern about vandalism of the aluminum and the graphics would need to be made of a sturdier material, such as high pressure laminate. Commissioners discussed sign material used and options. Commissioner Anderson stated that the trail map signs could be made with the high pressure laminate that he looked at during NRPA Conference. I3. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Anderson adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission at 8:49 p.m. Minutes-prepared •nya f.ve. III Ce4:4-' Dave Anderson,; nderson, Chair r' (72 Tina Allard, City Clerk III __ NATURE