03-13-2018 Park Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Tuesday, March 13,2018 6:30 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono Park Commission met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Acting Chair Jan Berg, Commissioners Rick Carter, Brenda Johnson, Brian Roath, and Natalie Williams. Representing Staff were Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards, and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Walsh arrived at 7:13 p.m. Acting Chair Berg called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. JANUARY 2,2018,PARK COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES There were no corrections to the minutes. Due to a lack of a quorum,this item will be voted on at the May meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT None CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2. BIG ISLAND MASTER PLAN Edwards stated before the Park Commission tonight is the master plan for Big Island. Edwards provided a brief outline of the history of the park, noting that the City procured the park on Big Island approximately ten years ago in partnership with the State,the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, the veterans, and other private donors. There is an easement covering the entire park that is administered by the Watershed District. That easement is broken into a very restrictive conservation easement and then an easement over the active recreational portions of the park. Edwards noted early last year some issues with Big Island arose when there was some discussion about removing the docks, which led to the creation of the Big Island Committee as well as a subcommittee steering committee. One of the goals of the two committees was to come up with a plan for improvements at the park. Last fall the City Council agreed to engage Bolton and Menk to assist the City in creating a mini master plan for the park. The idea was that the plan would help provide structure as those improvements are contemplated. The other task to be performed by Bolton and Menk is that they will produce the requisite grant documents. The main components of the master plan revolve around security, accessibility, and facility amenities on Big Island. The top priority of the steering committee was accessibility, followed by security. Edwards displayed a map of Big Island, noting that the yellow dotted line represents the existing trail network. The orange depicts the trails that are being considered for upgrades and the trail that is marked in orange and highlighted in green does not exist and is of a lower priority. The red dotted circles represent some areas are for increased amenities, interpretative signage, directional signage at the overlook, a picnic shelter with tables, and a restroom. On the north side of Big Island is being contemplated for some sitting stones. The southern blue center is the existing visitor center,and in the Page 1 of 8