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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-01-2020 Park Commission MinutesMINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 1 of 9 ROLL CALL The Orono Park Commission met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Chair Brian Roath and the following members appearing remotely: Commissioners Rick Carter, Jennifer Klaahsen, Julie Ruegemer, and Taylor Stephens. Representing Staff was Adam Edwards. CALL TO ORDER Chair Roath called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. March 2, 2020 Park Commission Meeting Minutes Carter moved, Ruegemer seconded, to approve the March 2, 2020 Park Commission Meeting Minutes. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2. 2020 Park Commission Committees and Goals Updates and Review Edwards displayed a document and said he took the focus areas by function or committee such as East Long Lake, Lurton Park, Community Events, Trails, and Big Island. There are committees to talk about Hackberry and Seven Nations, but there were no action items for those so he left them off to make it more simple. He stated COVID restrictions have impacted the ability to have several events which he highlighted on the document. Also, the Trails Committee met while in the Coronavirus recess and added some changes which are in green. Roath asked Edwards to give a quick update on the Summit Beach with the rowing club. Edwards stated that since the last meeting, there has been no action as far as the rowing club is concerned. His last conversation with them was that they were waiting for COVID restrictions to be lifted because they wanted to make their pitch to the City Council in person. Restrictions have started lifting as of last week for Council meetings and they had a partial in-person meeting; the next Council meeting is fully in- person to his knowledge. They did not reach out yet to get on the Council’s schedule. He reviewed the 95% design set for the trail for East Long Lake Road. For the most part, it follows everything that was in the master plan and discussions. One component was changed, which is the low point as it goes through the marsh part of the road that goes underwater. Originally the idea was to install a culvert and raise the trail there. Permitting became problematic through the DNR/Watershed/Army Corps of Engineers, so an alternate method is being looked at, which is to build a 150-200-foot-long boardwalk section of trail through the area, with less permitting requirements. Some more tweaks will be made, and hopefully it will go out for bid next week; he is hoping to bring something in front of the Council for award June 22. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 9 Roath asked Ruegemer if she had anything to report on Lurton Park goals as far as maintenance, developing a plan for future upgrades, or the Dog Days event. Ruegemer said she thinks the event should be postponed indefinitely until COVID has passed; it does not make sense to plan something for fall when it will still be a factor. It can be re-evaluated next year. As far as maintenance, she has been in contact with Edwards about issues with some dead trees planted last fall; they are working to get those replaced. It sounds like they are under warranty through Otten Brothers. Roath asked Edwards if there were any other projects on the schedule for Lurton Park. Edwards said there were no more projects scheduled this year. However, in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), there is a potential for doing more graveling of the trails throughout the park in subsequent years. Ruegemer noted that she is not sure if anyone knows why the trees died and is wondering if it could be from too many dogs peeing on them. She asked if there was anything they could do differently when planting the new ones. Edwards said they would reach out to Otten’s and make sure their arborist people give some guidance on what they should do differently as far as species, placement, etc. He commented that since Otten’s recommended the trees and locations, they are kind of on the hook for all the warranty stuff. Roath asked Edwards what the sense is from the City regarding Community Events just in general, as far as if the City is moving forward with anything. Edwards said currently all the events the City is involved with, most notably National Night Out, have been postponed for later in the fall to see what happens with restrictions, or are being canceled for the year. As far as current restrictions, he does not think any of the City’s events would work with the limitation on the number of people who could attend. Roath asked if the Holiday Tree Lighting event was far enough away and whether that could somehow be made an outdoor event. Edwards stated he thinks it is still far enough away that it does not need to be canceled at this point. The only financial commitment is Santa, and he did not think they could get out of that even if it was canceled. He suggested keeping that on the agenda; and if, by some miracle, there is a vaccine or something else that pops up that changes restrictions, it can occur. If not, alternatives can be looked at. Roath asked Carter to verify that the Big Island Groundbreaking would also be canceled. Carter said he thinks that is also postponed indefinitely. Roath stated it makes just as much sense to have the Bederwood Park Grand Opening next spring as it does this fall. Edwards said it would be wise, anyway, with the condition of the field. It is seeded but germinating slowly, and he does not know how playable it would be until next spring. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 9 Roath asked if Edwards could bring to the City Council the Tree Lighting, which is kind of on hold but the Park Commission would get back to it in a couple of months. The Lurton Park Dog Days, Big Island Groundbreaking, Bederwood Sport Field Grand Opening, and Brewfest events are postponed/canceled. Carter said Stephens, Ruegemer, and he met and discussed “Milestones” and “Goals” and added the items that are in green on the displayed document. They decided to not do community outreach until it is necessary, but they are ready to do so. The next milestone is to review the capital budget when it is ready, probably in September. There may be some community input for the Lakeview Legacy Park later in the summer. There was a lot of transition on the Trail Committee and they have not gotten together for a long time, so they are now just caught up. He asked if Davis could be replaced with Stephens. Roath agreed to do so and then asked what the community outreach looks like. Carter said they did not talk about that yet. He noted it probably looks a lot different now than it would have six months ago or will two years from now. They did not get into it; the next time will be a test case and they will figure it out. He said people both at the City and his firm are doing things remotely and it is working fairly well and they will figure out a way to do that. He said in some ways they may do a better job remotely, as strange as that seems. Carter asked Edwards if he made any changes to the Big Island information and whether he wanted to do his update now or later. Edwards reported that he did not change the goals but that the Big Island project was awarded about a month ago so there is a contractor. The award was not at the full project size; it had to be limited due to funding. The project will consist of the trail, the conversion of the trail network that was identified to an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standard. It includes the provision of a bathroom/latrine facility near the Visitor Center and some of the signage and security measures that were part of the plan. The shelter and picnic tables that were templated at the overlook did not make the cut financially. He is told the contractor will do the pre-construction conference in the next couple of weeks, and he will hopefully have a better view of the construction dates. When they last spoke, they were looking at the end of June/mid-July to begin. Carter stated, on behalf of the Big Island Legacy perspective, he had two main points. They fell short of fundraising efforts by approximately $50,000; the City stepped up and added about $25,000-30,000 so Legacy was able to take advantage of most of the match. They fell short of getting the full $200,000 match by about $28,000 but that could still happen. It has to be spent by next spring. There are a couple of potential options; they have submitted grant applications in that amount to a couple of locations. If there were an additional $50,000-75,000, some of the alternates could be picked up that did not get included, like the shelter at the top of the hill and/or some of the heavy-duty picnic tables. Even though in the next period of time fundraising will be much more difficult, there is a possibility this project could be included in the bonding bill. There was significant discussion and assurance from some folks involved in contributing from the legislative side that they could potentially see a $300,000 bonding request in the bonding bill. If that were to happen, he would propose a modest second phase that would finish up some things that did not get done, maybe a little bit of additional trail work, and some nice touches like signage and additional barriers. If the bonding bill does not come about, it would be close to complete and still be a fabulous project based on the work that will get done this summer. Roath asked for clarification about the bonding bill date. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 9 Carter said legally there has to be another session and thought there would be a bonding bill in June. The big question is whether this project would be included. The decision would be made by the end of June. Roath asked if anyone was using the park. Carter stated there are a lot less people in Cruiser’s Cove, more people are on the beach, and a modest amount of people at the dock. He thinks there will be a lot more activity when the trail starts to show up/is visible, bathrooms are accessible from the dock, and people see the interpretative panels and signing. Roath noted that the construction starts in June. Carter confirmed construction will start soon and there could be a groundbreaking ceremony afterwards. He suggested doing something later in the year but to play it by ear. It may be that nothing happens this summer, but an opening of sorts could be done next spring. If there is a way to do something to recognize everyone that helped and contributed to the project this summer/fall, he would want to do that. Roath suggested a small event could be done as long as it was covered by the newspaper. Carter agreed with Roath and said people could be spread out and options looked at. Roath brought up the grant request for playground equipment that was not done in March. He asked if that would be pushed to November. Edwards said, with regard to the Long Lake Rowing Club, everything that was thought about being done at the park was put on hold. He thinks even when they get to the CIP, he moved that funding to 2021. Roath asked Edwards to make sure that it gets on the calendar as a to-do, noting the request could be made even if the Commission does not know what is going on with the rowing club. Edwards agreed that the decision could be made at some point. 3. Parks Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Review Edwards stated that June starts the budgeting cycle for 2021. The City starts with the operating budget first, and once the Council gives guidance and it gets worked out, work starts on the enterprise funds and capital improvement budgets, one of which is the Parks Capital Improvement Plan. He noted it was the same file at the Work Session in February, and it also should have been in members’ packets this week. He has not moved too much around on the document, but wanted to throw it out there so if there are aspirations to move things around, it can be finalized. He will bring it back in September for review and then have it finalized by the Council, usually in November. He noted the biggest challenge right now as far as capital expenditures within Parks is the fact that once the East Long Lake Trail, the Big Island work, and the trail connection to the Dakota along County Road 19 are completed, there is about a zero balance, pending additional revenue that comes in from any developments both now and in the future. Carter asked Edwards if he took into account the revenue from the Big Island Legacy and whether it was a net number or is considered future revenue. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 9 Edwards stated the numbers in the chart come from the City, primarily from the park dedication fund. He referenced Big Island at $131,531 and said that is the City’s contribution and also grant information, etc. Roath asked Edwards if there was any talk lately about funding the parks through the levy. Edwards said there was some discussion about establishing at least some kind of placeholder within the levy process for parks. He has not heard anything in the last couple of months, but that's not unusual because budget season just came about in the last couple of weeks. If that is important to the Park Commission, it should be talked about with the Council members. Roath stated he heard from some of the Council members that it was on the radar, but that was in February. He did not know if there was anything new. Edwards said he had not heard anything new on his end. Roath asked Edwards if “Lake Access” was on the bottom of the document, because he couldn’t see the bottom of the screen. Edwards indicated the “Lake Access” area and said members should not be too concerned if they couldn’t see the screen because it was the same information in the packets and on the City’s website. Roath asked if any information had changed since the Commissioners looked at it the last time. Edwards stated he updated a couple of numbers; for instance, the Big Island number went from $80,000 to $131,000 with the award. He moved the trail connection for the Dakota from 2020 to 2021, which was an update from Three Rivers Park District. He moved the Summit Beach items from 2020 to 2021, as was previously discussed. He also added a section called “2020 Notes” for new information he was getting, such as the Trail Committee’s recommendations for some movement on the trails, the order, and what years that should happen. Roath noted there is a placeholder of $10,000 for the golf course per year and asked what that money would be used for this year. Edwards said he currently does not have anything. They finished last year’s project, which was the drainage down the center of the course. He noted Jason and his crew did some more finalization of it such as more sod, etc. The next similar type of project would be some more work on the irrigation system. He said a $6,000 pump had to be replaced last year, but that came out of the operating budget. Roath asked if there was a good estimate of what the $10,000 in 2020 might end up being for. Edwards stated he does not have anything currently allocated for that. Klaahsen said if the $10,000 is not tagged at the golf course, it could be used for possibly reinstating the swim docks at Sandy Beach and Lydiard Beach, or at least it could be discussed. Roath stated there may be a policy issue, whether it is something the Commission wants to do and maintain it. He is not sure what the next steps would be with that. He thought it was going to be added to an agenda to discuss the policy around the docks in general. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 9 Klaahsen indicated that it was going to be added to the last Work Session but it ended up being cancelled. She said there were some Orono swim beach standards developed in 2014, which was when some docks were removed. She noticed a few things are not being done on the standards such as the recommendation that all beaches should have a picnic table, bench, and bike rack. She knows not all of those things are at Sandy Beach. It also indicates swim buoys should be placed in front of each beach area. She would like to discuss reconsidering the beach standards and either try to adhere to them or revise them. Roath stated there is nothing that can be done this year. He suggested adding that item to a future agenda/meeting, and in the meantime, get some background information, work with Edwards, and then give a presentation at the appropriate meeting. Klaahsen agreed to do so. She noted Sandy Beach has experienced more use because of COVID and social-distancing. It is only about a 30-foot wide beach, and if there was a small dock, at least two families could enjoy the beach social-distancing -- one on the dock; one on the beach -- so it seems more relevant this summer than in past years, and it would be nice to put something quickly in place. Roath asked Edwards if that was a possibility and whether there is a dock available. Edwards stated he would probably have to secure a dock. He has dock sections, but he has been using them for maintenance for existing docks at lake access points. He said the first step may be to change the beach standards, noting that was a point of contention when the Commission first stood up in 2014. He said things can be adjusted; it’s just a matter of getting something from the Commission and getting it before the Council, as far as procuring additional docks, etc. Roath asked if the Park Commission was meeting in July. Edwards stated there is a Work Session set for July 6 at 6:00 p.m. Roath noted that it could be worked on in June and something brought to the Commission in July, unless Klaahsen had another idea. Klaahsen said she did not have another idea at this time. Roath said the Commission can plan on working on it in June, and if the Commission wants to do something for this year, they can see if they can go forward or if they have to wait until next year. He noted the golf course money could also roll over to 2021. Edwards said Roath was correct. He noted that the money stays in the CIP in the Parks fund, so if it is not used, it is still in the fund the following year. That is how almost $1 million was built up over 5-6 years prior to the latest spending spree. STAFF REPORTS 4. Public Works Parks Update Edwards stated they have gone through the spring transition of getting all of the parks and lake access points from winter to summer mode. A gradual opening in line with COVID-19 guidelines has been occurring at the golf course, currently with an 80% capacity. They are renting carts and doing tee times MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 9 while social-distancing. The inside of the clubhouse is not open, but they are making transactions through a window. They had a couple of $3,000 days over the weekend. A lot of people are taking advantage of being able to be outside while still social-distancing. Roath asked if the golf course was open except for customers not being able to go inside, and that everything that was done inside is able to be done through the window. Edwards said concessions are not available right now but will be brought on board shortly. Roath asked if customers are able to use the restrooms. Edwards stated a Porta-Potty was brought in for use. He said there is another one by the pump house. He noted the seasonal employees are pretty leery about letting people in the clubhouse. City Staff have been sensitive to the people working at the golf course while taking care of customers/residents. Edwards also noted he thinks they have cracked the code on some of the drainage issues at Hackberry Park. They did some repairs, and it looks like the outfields for the two little league diamonds are drying up earlier than normal, and Little League will be starting on June 6. They also assisted the Orono Baseball Association (OBA) with upgrading the infields of the two baseball diamonds. In addition, they also have an established field reservation system online. They had been using the capability that came with the website but were only able to do one entity of reservation at a time. Now the two fields can be separated and reserved independently, and there is interest from both the OBA as well as the Orono Westonka Youth Soccer Association. At Lurton Park, some trees were spec’d that did not come back after the winter, and they will be replaced under the warranty. The inside of the building was painted at Big Island, the snow fence removed, barge transportation secured to get the mower out there to start regular mowing, and the interpretive signs have come in and will be hung later in the week. At Bederwood Park, the seeding has been done. The wear course and striping in the parking lot has been done. The new irrigation building is being painted. They are still waiting on Xcel Energy because they had to upgrade the electrical service to run the new well that was put in. The new transformer has not been put on-site, so the irrigation will be run with one of the pump trucks until the whole system can be brought on. The Dakota Trail access has been back-and-forth on design and funding. The latest update is that Three Rivers Park District has retained design control for the project. However, a lot of the design was going to be done in-house with Three Rivers’ Engineers and Surveyors. With COVID-related impacts, it was not able to be done and is being contracted out, which is delaying things from potentially this year to 2021. He noted the Dakota Trail crossing is now complete at the intersection of 15 and Orono Orchard Road. Carter noted one of the top ten Comprehensive Plan priorities is a potential designated trail for walking and biking along County Road 19 from the end of the Navarre-Dakota access trail, through the 15/19 intersection, down to the border of Orono, and then potentially continuing through Tonka Bay and Shorewood to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail. With the bridge being closed this summer, he asked if there was a way to do a demonstration trail, where you put up cones and simulate a trail. He said he thinks it is a good opportunity to see how it could lay out and be used with minimal traffic. Although he is on his sixth or seventh person at Hennepin County, no one there has said a flat-out no. They have said that it is definitely in consideration to do a true trail when the road is reconstructed and they are willing to talk about doing some kind of a demonstration during the next 2-3 months. Roath asked when the road is scheduled to be reconstructed. Carter said that will be his first question when he gets on the phone with the appropriate person. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 8 of 9 Edwards noted the road work is not on Hennepin County’s CIP for about five years and he has not seen it pop up yet, other than bits and pieces. They are doing pavement replacement but not full reconstruction as far as he can see. Ruegemer said they have had conversations with Edwards about getting some signage put up behind Navarre Park to lead people to the Dakota Trail safely while the trail is being built and construction is occurring. There are some safe, easy neighborhood roads, but most people do not know they are there unless they are familiar with the area. Edwards and she will find time and discuss it more. Carter said the idea has merit to be further developed and suggested to do so at a Work Session or later. Roath clarified whether the idea was to add signs to the trails. Carter said it would be to designate low-traffic streets as pathways to connecting areas and signing them that way. It does not necessarily have to be a full-blown trail. He noted the Commission was focused on connections, but they were looking for designated paths or committed, marked, on-road things. He noted shortcuts through the community on side streets have a lot of potential and that most people do not seek those out without a little bit of advice. Roath asked if there was any concern with the neighborhoods the streets go through. Ruegemer noted this is in a neighborhood where Navarre Park is. There is a bicycle sign halfway through the neighborhood, and the Dakota Trail is also located there. It is a neighborhood filled with parks and trails, but a lot of people would not see the one sign posted, so it is a simple matter of adding a couple more signs to guide them to the first bicycle sign and the trail. The signs do not need to be big; they can be small signs on telephone poles. She also stated that she discussed with Edwards large amounts of garbage being dumped at Navarre Park. A couch was dumped at Crystal Bay Park as well. It is an ongoing situation that needs to be dealt with. Edwards commented that people should let Staff know if they see garbage, because they will clean it up. He said anytime a garbage can is placed in a public setting, it becomes a magnet for things that don’t fit in the garbage can. Carter, Klaahsen, and Stephens said they had no further comments after Chair Roath asked for further comments. Roath noted Hudson met with someone who had maintenance concerns about Hackberry and asked Edwards if it was resolved. Edwards said it was the President of the OBA and also a neighbor of the park. He was trying to ascertain how maintenance is done, particularly on ball fields, as they have been gearing up for tee-ball season. He said they discussed how maintenance has been handled with OBA in the past. There are some long- standing agreements with the OBA: OBA maintains the infields, the City maintains the outfields, and they have partnered on infrastructure improvements such as dugouts, fencing, etc. They worked with them in the past week to spread out some aglime on the infields at Hackberry. He noted there is a general interest from them and others when the City decides to create a new master plan for the park, which has been put on hold until the acquisition of the residential parcel in the middle of the park is realized. MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, June 1, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 9 Roath indicated that the next meeting is a workshop format and on July 6 at 6:00 p.m. He noted the meeting may be held remotely or in-person and asked for input on people’s preferences. There will be a discussion on beaches and docks, and so forth, and anyone wishing to put anything else on the agenda should let him/Edwards know. Roath said he feels parks will be used more than ever this year and members should go to parks and take note of things that could be done to make them better. ADJOURNMENT Roath moved, Carter seconded, to adjourn the Orono Park Commission meeting at 6:57 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. ATTEST: _________________________________________ Brian Roath, Chair