HomeMy Public PortalAbout01.20.2010 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes
January 20, 2010
Medina City Hall
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The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on January 20, 2010 at 7:02
p.m. in the Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Ann Thies presided.
1) Call to Order
Commissioners present: Ann Thies, Ben Benson, Madeleine Linck, Janet White,
Bill Waytas, and Chris Hilberg
Commissioners absent: Paul Jaeb
Also present: City Administrator Chad Adams, Assistant to City
Administrator Jodi Gallup and Public Works
Superintendent Steve Scherer
2) Appointment of Officers:
Chair: Ben Benson
Vice Chair: Madeleine Linck
Secretary: Paul Jaeb
A motion was made by White and seconded by Hilberg to appoint Ben Benson as Chair,
Madeleine Linck as Vice Chair, and Paul Jaeb as Secretary. Motion passed unanimously.
3) Additions to the Agenda: Add to the staff report: who will run concession stand
operations and field house project update. Moved by Hilberg and seconded by White.
Motion passed unanimously.
4) Approval of the Minutes
November 18, 2009 Regular Meeting Minutes
• Section 7: Gallup updated the Park Commission that the City had applied for a
grant from the Hennepin Youth Sports Facility Grant Program in the amount of
$100,000 to finish a few of the items that were not originally budgeted from the
Hennepin Youth Sports Facility Grant Program.
A motion was made by Linck and seconded by White to approve the minutes, with the
noted correction. Motion passed unanimously.
5) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None.
6) City Council Update:
City Administrator Chad Adams updated the Park Commission that since the last time the
Park Commission met, the City Council:
• Adopted a 1 % tax levy increase, but most residential properties saw a tax decrease
from 2009.
• Approved the mixed use zoning district ordinance, which will affect properties
west of the Uptown Hamel area and west of Countryside Cafe.
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January 20, 2010
Medina City Hall
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• Discussed the Public Works Facility project updates at various meetings.
• Received an update from the Hamel and Loretto Volunteer Fire Departments to
discuss merging the two departments.
• Denied monument sign variance request in the City's right-of-way.
• Applied for a DNR Community Conservation Assistance Grant for the City's
open space/conservation design ordinance.
• Approved a rate increase request from Randy's Sanitation as a pass through cost
because Hennepin County had raised disposal fees.
7) Overview of Roles and Duties as Park Commissioners
Adams gave a short presentation to the Park Commission to review the Park
Commission's roles, structure, staffs roles, procedures, policies, quorum, open meeting
law, conflict of interest, and data practices.
8) Fence Signage at Hamel Legion Park
Gallup reported that Council member Smith had visited a park in Coppell, Texas that
displayed baseball shaped advertisements from local businesses on the inside of the ball
field fences. Smith requested that the Park Commission discuss the possibility of Medina
allowing businesses to advertise in a similar manner to bring in additional funds to help
with field maintenance.
The Park Commission looked at the pictures of the example signage from Coppell, Texas
and there was a general consensus that this was tasteful advertising. There was also a
general consensus that the signage should only be placed on the inside of the ball field
fences that have screens; no free standing advertisement signage would be allowed in the
park.
There was a lengthy discussion on whether the City or the Hamel Athletic Association
should solicit businesses, sell advertisement space and profit from the program. During
discussion the following items were noted:
• The signage would be expensive and the process would take a lot of
administrative time.
• The money should be for the benefit of the users of the ball fields.
• A policy would need to be drafted on how signage is handled and what types of
businesses would be allowed to advertize in the park. Additional research may
need to be done to see which businesses currently support the baseball
association.
• There are conflicts with letting the Hamel Athletic Association administer and
profit from this program on the City of Medina's property.
• The signage could be a good source of revenue.
• The revenue to the City is attractive, but has limited resources to solicit
businesses.
• The Hamel Athletic Association could more easily target businesses.
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January 20, 2010
Medina City Hall
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• The City and the Hamel Athletic Association could have a revenue sharing
program; the City would have leverage because the City would have to authorize
another group to advertize on City property.
• Additional research should be done on current advertising programs at area
skating arenas.
• If the City allows signage it should only be allowed on one field as a pilot
program.
The Park Commission directed staff to talk to the Hamel Athletic Association to see what
level of interest, if any, they would have in this program and to summarize the key points
from tonight's discussion at the next meeting.
9) Park Dedication Ordinance
Adams stated that staff is seeking Park Commission discussion and recommendation on
possible revisions to the ordinance.
Adams explained how the current park dedication ordinance is applied in practice. The
City can take 10% of land when property subdivides; or, cash in lieu of the land
dedication. For residential properties, the cash option would be calculated at 8% of the
pre -developed land value, with a minimum of $3,500 per unit and a maximum of $8,000
per unit. Commercial properties are calculated at a straight 10% of the pre -developed
land value. The City also provides a credit for an existing lot of record, but it is not
written in the ordinance or a policy.
Adams walked the Park Commission through some examples of how the park dedication
ordinance applied to various residential and commercial subdivisions in Medina.
The Park Commission discussed the fairness of the residential vs. commercial park
dedication rates. It was noted that:
• The commercial properties probably do not use the parks and trails as much as the
residential properties.
• The market value for a commercial property is typically higher than a residential
property.
• Commercial properties generally pay twice as much property tax as residential
properties.
• New businesses may be discouraged from coming to Medina if the City fees
including park dedication fees are too high.
• If commercial properties are calculated at 8% instead of 10% of the pre -developed
land value, the city will receive less park dedication dollars, but there will be
more equity in numbers.
A motion was made by Waytas and seconded by White to recommend to the City Council
to reduce the commercial rate from 10% to 8% of the pre -developed land value. Motion
passed (4-2) Linck and Thies opposed.
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January 20, 2010
Medina City Hall
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10) 2010 Goal Setting Session
The Park Commission created the following goals for 2010:
1. Create list of annual items.
2. Draft a ball field lights and irrigation funding policy.
3. Create a document to analyze future park study areas.
4. Transfer Tomann parcel to the City.
5. Update website with parks pages.
6. Host a grand opening for the Hamel Legion Park Field House.
7. Continue to educate the public on lakes, streams, and wetlands.
8. Continue to work with Orono to make sure Willow Drive trail is high on their
priority list.
9. Work with Loren Kohnen to plant his donated tree in Rain Water Nature Area.
10. Continue integrating new logo into City functions; come up with creative ideas
for the "M" sign in front of City Hall.
11. Investigate other cities' policies on citizen volunteers in parks such as "Friends of
the Park" to create a long term program for maintaining the parks.
12. Discuss an alternative place to put the Hunter Lions sign in the park, once the new
sign is installed.
The Park Commission will further discuss creating a future parks study area plan at the
February meeting and discuss the ball field lights and irrigation funding policy at the
March meeting.
11) Staff Report
a) 2010 Park Commission Representation at Council Meetings: The 2010 roster was
included in the Park Commission's packets. Gallup requested to be notified when
Park Commissioners trade dates so she can remind the correct person to attend the
council meetings.
b) Uniform Park Sign Update: Gallup reported that the City Council had approved the
Park Commission's recommendation and the first sign panel had been ordered. The
Park Commission would be notified when it arrived.
c) General Items:
• OSI Land -use Application: Open Systems International has submitted a land -
use application to create a 19-acre parcel and for construction of a 92,000
square foot office building at the northwest corner of Highway 55 and
Arrowhead Drive. The Park Commission will likely be reviewing the
application to make a recommendation on park dedication at the February
meeting.
• Holasek Property Concept Plan: The property in between Hamel Legion Park
and Hunter Lions Park has submitted a concept plan that will go before the
Planning Commission and City Council in February and will likely come to
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January 20, 2010
Medina City Ha11
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the Park Commission in the upcoming months to make a recommendation on
park dedication.
• Wayzata Schools: Mayor Crosby, City Administrator Adams, and Council
member Weir had met with representatives from the Wayzata School District
at a Community Conservation event. Wayzata School district representatives
had mentioned a possible future need to use the recreational space in Hamel
Legion Park.
• County Road 116 Trail: Scherer mentioned that the low bid to construct the
County Road 116 Trail had come in at $368,740.45 and the project engineers
had estimated it at $400,000. The contract is planned to be awarded at the
February 3rd Council meeting.
d) Who Will Run Concession Stand Operations: Adams reported that staff had met with
the Hamel Lions who ran concessions last year to discuss 2010 operations. The
Hamel Lions kindly declined running concessions in the new building in 2010. The
Hamel Lions recently purchased all their equipment for their concession trailer and
would not want to purchase more equipment. They also did not want to have to pay
for two separate health department licenses. Since the Hamel Lions were not
interested in running concessions, the City of Medina sent a letter to known civic
groups in the area soliciting interest in running concessions. The City has already
received interest from three different groups that might be willing to work together to
share operations. The City is currently working on a contract with the Hamel Athletic
Association to charge a surcharge per participant to help off -set the building utility
costs and cleaning costs of running concessions. This would allow the interested civic
groups to run concessions without paying the city a fee.
e) Field House Project Update: Scherer stated that the roof was on, the siding was 90%
complete, electrical was up and going and the lift station was in. Steve said he was
able to walk up the stairs and look out the balcony. He felt there would be adequate
storage space upstairs and in the garage. Scherer is working on a way to block off the
mechanical room from the staircase.
12) Adjourn
A motion was made by Thies, seconded by Hilberg and passed unanimously, to adjourn
the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup.