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03-10-2021 PRMMeeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Members Present: Chair Williams, Commission members Anderson, Holmgren, Loidolt, Niziolek, Rathbun, and Soltvedt Council Liaison: Ms. Wagner Staff Present: Senior Planner, Chris Leeseberg, Environmental Coordinator, Amanda Erickson, Parks and Recreation Director, Michael Hecker, Recreation Coordinator, Tonya Love 1. 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 6:32 p.m. by Chair Williams. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Consider 03/10/2021 Agenda Mr. Hecker stated to add Item 9.1 Upland Restoration which will change the current Item 9.1 Organized Use Park Regulations to 9.2 and current Item 9.2 Electric Bikes will become Item 9.3. Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to approve the March 10, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting agenda with the addition of Item 9.1 Upland Restoration. Motion carried 7-0. 4.1 Consider 02/10/2021 Regular PRC Minutes Moved by Commissioner Soltvedt and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to approve the following February 10, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Motion carried 7-0. 5. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Moved by Chair Williams and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to elect Commissioner Soltvedt as Vice Chair of Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion carried 7-0. Moved by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to elect Commissioner Williams as Chair of Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion carried 7-0. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 March 10, 2021 ----------------------------- 6. Open Forum - None 7. Presentations - None 8.1 Park Dedication – Tranquil Meadows Preliminary Plat Mr. Hecker shared staff report. Commissioner Soltvedt asked about the connecting trail if it is city owned property, where the concept trail is and if that part is the church lot? Steve Rolf, 12821 188 Ave. N.W. Elk River, developer of Tranquil Meadows. Clarified staff recommendation stating he would prefer an 8-foot trail as he believes a 10-foot trail is excessive and having both a trail and sidewalk are redundant, do not need both. Lastly, asking if park dedication is for 24 or 25 lots. Mr. Hecker stated the city constructs 10-foot which is best for maintenance standards. The Park Dedication rate is decided tonight, and the Planning Commission will discuss the number of new lots. Mr. Rolf stated he is resistant to having both a trail and a sidewalk and believes this development doesn’t need both. Ken Jordan, 18990 Twin Lakes Road, asked how the trail along Tyler St. will be connected, and at the end on Hwy. 13 it will be dangerous to cross over Twin Lakes Road. The two ends of the trail lead to nowhere, you do not need both a sidewalk and a trail. Council member Wagner shared the council discussion, the County is working on Twin Lakes Road this summer, they are adding turn lanes, and a roundabout. The intersection will warrant a light or stop sign in the future and has been discussed by City Council and Sherburne County that there is a trail connection there. Commissioner Anderson stated it is important to follow the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the East/West corridor will have a sidewalk from Tyler to the west side of plat and does that serve the east west corridor. A 10-foot trail is standard and minimum trail in the city, from maintenance perspective 10-foot is used. Typically, existing homes do not pay Park Dedication so the amount will be on the number of new lots at the time of plat. Moved by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Rathbun to recommend to City Council to accept staff recommendations to accept Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 March 10, 2021 ----------------------------- park dedication for Tranquil Meadows be paid, at the applicable rate, for the final number of dwelling units when the subdivision is released for recording. A bituminous trail be installed, to city standards, along the eastern edge of subject property parallel to Tyler St. and a concrete sidewalk be installed, to city standards, from the western stub of 190th Ave. through the development to Tyler St. bituminous trail. Motion carried 7-0. 8.2 Solar Picnic Table Ms. Erickson, Environmental Coordinator, and Tom Stagstetter, Energy Commissioner, shared that the University of St. Thomas did a project of the solar picnic table a few years ago. It is an educational piece to learn how solar panels work. Staff recently found a contractor to construct it and will build in 2022, with Orono Park reconstruction this year we are looking to install the slab in 2021 and build the solar picnic table in 2022. Moved by Commissioner Soltvedt and seconded by Commissioner Niziolek to recommend the placement location of the solar picnic table as identified by staff. Motion carried 7-0. 9.1 Upland Restoration Construction Ms. Erickson shared that the Friends of the Mississippi River has funds for William H. Holton Conservation Area construction below the dam and Bailey Point Nature Preserve and are available until June of 2022. City staff would have oversight of project, working with DNR on final designs. 9.2 Organized Use Park Regulations Mr. Hecker shared his staff report and proposed Organized Use Park Regulations. Chair Williams stated the application has federal tax id, what does that mean if it is not a business offering a camp. Commissioner Soltvedt asked if the rate would be the same for different events. Mr. Hecker shared that a City of Elk River Special Event Permit would still cover the special events that are held within the city and that this is only for park use. Commissioner Soltvedt stated that we may want to identify refund policy on the application. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 4 March 10, 2021 ----------------------------- Commissioner Anderson stated the fees seem very reasonable, could be too low. Commissioner Niziolek asked what is the cost for the certificate of insurance for an event? Chair Williams stated insurance costs depends on organization and the type of event. Mr. Hecker shared this guideline will not apply to school events. Commissioner Anderson asked if the city could host the races with Commissioner Niziolek to offer races? Commissioner Niziolek would like to address the Nordic ski team informal practices; can they do that without paying and insurance? Commissioner Anderson shared they would need to reserve the park but as the school team. Commissioner Rathbun asked what prevents the applicant from requesting doing a yoga class at Lion John Weicht Park and when it starts raining, they move to the pavilion area. How does applicant know they only have green space and not the facilities? Can there be limitations on application? Fee structure seems low and suggests a 2-hour minimum. Councilmember Wagner stated this policy is not straight forward and wondered what the difference is between a special event permit and park use. Mr. Hecker stated that there are several requests from local small businesses to use the parks. Councilmember Wagner suggested charging $20 an hour and a minimum of two hours to keep it simple. Commissioner Anderson stated this type of policy has to start somewhere along with more conversation and it is a good idea. 9.3 Electric Bikes Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Commissioner Anderson went through MN Statutes and noted that the green trails at Woodland Trail Regional Park are not built to handle an e-bike. Stating this will be Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 5 March 10, 2021 ----------------------------- important to have discussion about, however, there is not an emergent need for action. Commissioner members asked what MORC thinks about regarding ebike use on the trails at Hillside Park. Are the trails being damaged? Councilmember Wagner shared her concerned about the safety, however, does not want to limit the sport. 10. Active Elk River Update Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. 11. Parks and Recreation Director Update Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Sharing that the YAC project has become larger and more expensive due to the need for a new septic field instead of a septic tank and work will begin in August. Councilmember Wagner asked about who decided that it needed to be upgraded and why is it such a large cost increase? Mr. Hecker stated he has worked with city staff regarding the septic system needs and it’s been determined to meet state and city requirements we have to do a field septic system. 12. Announcements Chair Williams announced a new lighting ceremony for the girls’ softball game at Lion John Weicht Park similar to what was done at YAC. Councilmember Wagner asked for a YAC update regarding costs and septic system. 13. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Williams adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission at 8:40 p.m. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 6 March 10, 2021 ----------------------------- Minutes prepared by Tonya Love. ___________________ David Williams, Chair _____________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk