07-10-2002 PR MIN
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MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER
PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION
HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2002
Members Present:
Chair Peterson; Commissioners Anderson, Kuester, Briggs, Polston-Hork,
DeWall, Nystrom, and Sladek
Members Absent:
None
Staff Present:
Michele McPherson, Director of Planning; Chris Leeseberg, Planner/Park
Planner; T eny Bye, Park Foreman; Phil Hals, Street/Park Superintendent;
Michele Bergh, Recreation Manager; Jessica Miller, Recording Secretary
1. Call Meeting To Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Park and Recreation
Commission was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Chair Peterson.
2. Consider July 10. 2002. Park & Recreation Commission Agenda
COMMISSIONER BRIGGS MOVED TO APPROVE THE JULY 10, 2002, PARK &
RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA AS AMENDED.
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· Item 8 - Michele Bergh's update was changed from Field Use Policy Change
to District Facility Use Policy
COMMISSIONER SLADEK SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION
CARRIED 8-0.
3. Consider Minutes of June 12. 2002. Park & Recreation Commission Meeting
COMMISSIONER POLSTON-HORK MOVED TO APPROVE THE JUNE 12,
2002, PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES.
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION
CARRIED 8-0.
4. Park & Recreation Commissioner to Attend July Planning Commission and City Council
Meetings '
a. 07/15/02 City Council Meeting
Commissioner Briggs will attend the July 15, 2002, City Council meeting.
b. 07/23/02 Planning Commission Meeting
Commissioner Anderson will attend the July 23, 2002, Planning Commission
meeting in Commissioner Nystrom's absence.
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July 10, 2002
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5.
Open Mike
No one appeared for Open Mike.
6. Neighborhood Meetings/Discussions
None.
7. Park Development Progress Report: Terry Bye
Terry Bye, Park Foreman, stated that the Parks Department has finished the tree planting in
Riverplace Park. About 20 trees were planted. The Parks Department has received many
phone calls and compliments on the Riverplace Park improvements.
Mr. Bye stated that the curbs have been poured at both Fresno and Mississippi Oaks Parks
and that they are ready for the playground installation. This could be completed as early as
August 1st.
The Parks Department spent many hours helping set up and tear down for the 4th of July
celebration that was held at Orono Park. Mr. Bye thought the event went very- well.
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Commissioner Kuester asked Mr. Bye about the landscaping at Lions Park. Mr. Bye stated
that the concrete was poured for the sidewalk. and water has pooled by the door because of
all the rain. The contractor is going to take a look at it and it may have to be fixed. The trees
and shrubs will be planted after the retaining wall is done. Mr. Bye hopes this will be
completed in a couple of weeks.
8.
Gty Recreation Update: Michele Bergh
Michele Bergh, Recreation Manager, stated that Gty Recreation no longer handles the
scheduling of school fields and this frees up a lot of time to concentrate on Gty Recreation
activities.
The Entertainment in the Parks program is going on and the attendance has been great. The
first program was an evening program with the YMCA and was a huge success. The first
Thursday morning that the program was held about 380 people attended. The numbers for
the Entertainment in the Parks has never been this high. Attendance the second week was
almost 300.
Recreation staff also helped out with the 4th of July celebration by having activities and
games at both ends of the park as well as helping with the cleanup.
Ms. Bergh also stated that Elk River Recreation received a donation of Pepsi products from
Bernicks for the sports organizations. The soft drinks were distributed to every- athletic team.
Michele informed the Commission that the School Board is proposing changes to the
district facility use policy. The two proposed changes are as follows:
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. The district will charge a rental fee for the use of all district facilities if they are
charged rent for any facilities that they use. Additional fees would also be charged
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July 10, 2002
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per day to cover heat/ AC, supplies, scoreboards, and fees if the bleachers are used.
(Currently we pay for only building supervision and custodial expenses)
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The district would require a 10-day notification of cancellations to avoid paying
rental fees and staff expenses. (A 2 day cancellation is now required.)
Ms. Bergh stated that these changes will greatly affect the City of Elk River Recreation
programs because of the additional fees. Recreation would have to raise their fees 2-3 times
just to cover these additional expenses. Ms. Bergh stated that these increased fees may
eliminate Recreation's use of the district facilities for their programs. The School Board must
vote on policies twice before they take action on them and this policy has been covered once
and could be passed at the next School Board meeting on July 23. The Commission agreed
that this policy change would cause serious implications for our programs and suggested
maybe we could work out some sort of reciprocity agreement with the district. Michele will
work with City Administrator Pat Klaers and they will try to call Charlie Blesener from the
school district for clarification on this policy and see if something can be worked out.
9.A.1. Presentation of Wright County Parks
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Marc Mattice, Parks Administrator for Wright County, was in attendance to give the
Commission a brief presentation on the Wright County Park system. Mr. Mattice stated that
the Wright County Park system is a passive park system in that they let the cities run the
parks. Their park system is comprised of 29 parks and 2 campgrounds and totals about 2800
acres. Mr. Mattice stated that most of their parkland was donated in the late 1960s -early
1970s and many of the Wright County Parks are named after the people who donated the
land.
The Wright County Parks budget for the year is approximately $715,000, but after salaries
and utilities are subtracted, their operations budget is about $255,000 annually.
Mr. Mattice stated that he would like to work with Elk River and Sherburne County to
connect some of the trails. He feels it is important for communities outside the metro area
to work together since they do not receive the funding and grants that some of the larger
metro communities receive.
The Commission thanked Mr. Mattice for taking the time to come and speak to them.
9.B.1. Land Use Cases: Preliminary- Plat - Elk Meadows, Case No. P 02-17
The subject property is located south of County Road 12 and west of Kliever Lake Fields.
Street access to the subdivision will be provided by extending 180m Avenue NW westerly out
of Kliever Lake Fields. The proposed subdivision will include five lots; one for an existing
home facing County Road 12 and four lots with access on 180m Avenue.
Staff is recommending cash dedication for four vacant lots in lieu of land for this property
because it is not within a Park Service area and it is less than one-eighth of a mile from the
neighborhood park at Kliever Lake Fields.
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COMMISSIONER POLSTON-HORKMOVED TO ACCEPT CASH
DEDICATION FOR FOUR VACANT LOTS. COMMISSIONER DEWALL
SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
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9.B.2. Preliminary Plat - Twin Lakes Crossing, Case No. P 02-05 (revised)
Ms. McPherson presented the revised preliminary plat of Twin Lakes Crossing. The plat has
been revised due to the review of the proposal by the Wetland Technical Evaluation Panel.
The original proposal included 286 lots on 100 acres. The revised proposal includes 255 lots
on the 100 acres.
The revision includes two park areas; Oudot A (4.46 acres) and Oudot B (2.05 acres) located
on the westerly edge of the property. The recommendation from the Corrunission in May
was to have 6 acres at the end of Street A for parkland and a trail to Oudot K and to have
privately owned tot-lots in the multi-family portion of the development.
Ms. McPherson informed the Corrunission that staff has concerns that out of the 2.05 acres
of Oudot B, only about 1 acre would be usable because Oudot B is adjacent to a wetland
complex and has slopes that would be unusable. The location of Oudot B is also
troublesome and does not provide good street access. There is a 66-foot wide access point
from Smith Drive and a smaller access point from Street D. Staff recommends that the if the
Corrunission is interested in Oudot B that the small access point from Street D be eliminated
as it is not useful for park purposes. Staff would like the Corrunission to review its previous
recommendation as well as the revised proposal and either accept the revised proposal or
affirm their original decision of May 8, 2002.
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The Commission affirmed its original recommendation of May 8, 2002, to accept six acres of
land dedication with the remainder in cash dedication with the condition that two tot lots are
placed near the multi-family areas of the development and that a second trail connection
to Oudot K is provided
9.B.3. Administrative Subdivision - James & Kim Schuweiler, Case No. AS 02-08
The subject property is located at the southwest comer of the intersection of County Roads
79 and 32. The property is located in the Al District, which requires a 10-acres lot minimum
for subdivisions. There is an existing single-family home, an attached garage, and a detached
shed currendy located on the property.
The applicants proposal is to subdivide the approximately 20.79 acres into two parcels.
Parcel A would be 10 acres and Parcel B would be 10.79 acres. The property is located
outside of any park service area, therefore staff recommends cash dedication.
COMMISSIONER SLADEK MOVED TO ACCEPT CASH DEDICATION FOR
ONE LOT. COMMISSIONER POLSTON-HORK SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
9.C.1. ParkITrail Development Issues: Well Site Discussion
Elk River Municipal Utilities Manager Bryan Adams was unable to attend and asked that this
item be postponed until the August Park and Recreation Corrunission meeting.
9.C.2.
Consider Snowmobile/ A TV Memo
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Ms. McPherson presented information on the regulation of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and
Snowmobiles. She stated that a "moratorium" was established to prohibit snowmobiling
south of County Road 33 earlier this year. This moratorium was enacted in order to give
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staff time to develop a revised snowmobile ordinance and adopt new regulations prior to the
2002-2003 snowmobile season. Ms. McPherson stated that Sherburne County has
established regulations for A TV use within the County on private property and staff is
recommending that these items be considered by the City Council at this time because they
to have similar impacts on the City as snowmobiles.
State Statute states that counties or cities can impose their own regulations for snowmobile
and A TV operation on county highways, public lands, waterways, streets, and highways and
property under their jurisdiction.
Snowmobilers utilize two major corridors in Elk River, Highway 10 and Highway 169. Ms.
McPherson stated that the City would like to find a way to balance private property rights
versus public use. Signage and enforcement are also important because many riders come
from outside Elk River and are not aware of the regulations here. Ms. McPherson asked for
direction from the Commission on the issues outlined in the staff memo.
The Commission discussed the staff memo and suggested changes for staff to make. Ms.
McPherson stated that she will fine tune the memo and amend some of the language for city
ordinance 1104 and present both at the August meeting. Ms. McPherson will also have
Assistant Police Chief Jeff Beahen review the changes prior to the meeting because the
Police Department will be the ones enforcing the regulations.
10. Information Update Items (No discussion or presentation unless requested)
A. Land Use Cases - None
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B. Park/Trail Developments:
1. Park Dedication Fund Balance
2. River City Snow Riders Newsletter
3. Article Re: Rosemount Parks
4. Information: Office Assistant Hours Increase
5. Information: School Fields
6. MRP A Conference
11. Update on 06/17/02 City Council Meeting - Commissioner Kuester
Commissioner Kuester gave an update on the June 17, 2002, City Council meeting.
12. Update on 06/25/02 Planning Commission Meeting - Commissioner Briggs
Commissioner Briggs gave an update on the June 25, 2002, Planning Commission meeting.
13. Other Business
None.
14.
Adiournment
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There being no further business, COMMISSIONER BRIGGS MOVED TO
ADJOURN THE MEETING. COMMISSIONER POLSTON-HORK.
SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
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The meeting of the Elk River Park & Recreation Commission adjourned at 8:50 p.m..
Respectfully submitted,
~f'{~
Jessica Miller
Recording Secretary
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