HomeMy Public PortalAbout03.19.2008 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2008
Medina City Hall
Page 1 of 3
The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on March 19, 2008 at 7:00
p.m. in the Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Ann Thies presided.
1) Call to Order
Commissioners present:
Commissioners absent:
Also present:
Ann Thies, Ben Benson, Brian Kingsley,
Madeleine Linck and Beth Nielsen
Galen Bruer
Steve Scherer, Jodi Wunsch, and Carolyn Smith
2) Additions to the Agenda:
a) Utility Screening at Hamel Legion Park (9a)
b) Rose Dykhoff Memorial (9d)
A motion was made by Ben Benson and seconded by Madeleine Linck to approve the
additions/changes to the agenda. Motion passed unanimously.
3) Approval of the Minutes from February 20, 2008:
• Section 4a: Add sentence: The Park Commissioners requested that staff send a
thank you letter to Bob Pastor for his service.
• Section 8a: Fountain & Funding (last sentence): The Park Commissioners all
agreed the cost should be kept as close to $2,000 the budget as possible.
A motion was made by Madeleine Linck and seconded by Brian Kingsley to approve the
minutes as corrected. Motion passed unanimously.
4) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None
5) Cleanup Day
There was brief discussion concerning all the materials from last month's meeting. It was
decided that we should not inundate people with too much information, because we do
not want people throwing it all away. Beth Nielsen suggested focusing on literature that
people could use on practical things they do in every day life. Carolyn Smith highly
recommended using the Hennepin County Drop off Facility brochure, so people know
that they do not have to wait all year to dispose/recycle their items at Clean Up Day.
Madeleine Linck and Ann Thies suggested that the Park Commissioners have packets of
information on various categories to hand out to people in their vehicles rather than
setting up a booth. Thies suggested a sub -committee and Park Commissioners agreed to
have staff sort through the hand outs and create four to six categories of information to
have available at Clean Up Day. Madeleine Linck and Carolyn Smith volunteered to be
on the sub -committee to review the information with staff. The possible categories could
include Stormwater/surface water, water conservation/rain barrels, lawn care/chemicals,
septic systems, animal hobby farms/best management practices, recycling/waste
Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2008
Medina City Hall
Page 2 of 3
reduction, and organics/compost. Beth Nielsen suggested getting name tags made to wear
at these types of events. Jodi Wunsch said she would look into the cost and report back.
6) Trail Study
The Park Commission began reviewing the updated trail study document that has the
trails reprioritized according to the discussions that took place throughout the fall and
winter of 2007. There was a general consensus to make one trail prioritization change;
Deer Hill Road West Trail should be moved from low priority to moderately high. The
Park Commission began updating the text within the trail study.
Hamel Road: No substantial text changes.
Hunter Drive: There should be language added under the "opportunities and
contingencies" section explaining the need for a safe crossing by adding a sign,
crosswalk, and/or signal.
County Road 19: This trail description should only include the regional trail. Also, it
needs to have verbiage explaining that it is going to be a combination/mixed use trail.
Independence Beach Neighborhood Trail Connection: This trail should be separate from
the County Road 19 trail. This trail should stay high priority.
County Road 116: The surface type of this trail should be changed from limestone to
paved surface.
Willow Drive — South of Morningside Road: The length of this trail needs to be measured
by staff. Language should be added to reflect that traffic is usually fast and heavy on
Willow Drive. It also should state that the connection of this trail to County Road 6 will
ultimately provide off road access to Long Lake, the retail district, and the Orono school
campus. There was also discussion on moving the trail from the east side of the road to
the west side of the road, since that is where all the homes are located. A trail on the west
side would also make sense so people do not have to cross the road to get on the trail and
then cross it again once they reach County Road 6. Language should also be added
stating that this trail needs to be done through coordination with the City of Orono.
Hackamore Road/Arrowhead Drive: This trail needs to be split into two separate trails:
1. Hackamore Rd: Arrowhead Dr to 116: High Priority
2. Hackamore Rd: 116 to 101: Moderately High Priority (roadside paved shoulder)
7) Friends of Elm Creek
No Park Commissioners at the meeting were available to attend the next Friends of Elm
Creek meeting. Jodi Wunsch will check with Galen Bruer, Dick Picard, and Tim Benetti
to see if they are able to attend.
8) Rainwater Nature Area RFP
Staff requested a few Park Commissioners to volunteer to be on a design committee to
help review proposals for design services, hire a design consultant, and then work with
the design consultant on designing Rainwater Nature Area. Ben Benson, Madeleine
Linck, Beth Nielsen, and Carolyn Smith all volunteered to serve on the design committee.
Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2008
Medina City Hall
Page 3 of 3
One design suggestion was made to plant trees that hold their leaves to serve as a buffer
from the railroad tracks, Highway 55, and the Ryan Companies development.
9) Staff Report
a) Hamel Legion Park Improvements
• Fountain & Funding — Ben Benson suggested that a smaller fountain would be a
better fit for size purposes and financial purposes. There was some general
discussion on revisiting the original rock/boulder fountain idea. Ann Thies said
she would visit Otten Brothers to see what they had. Beth Nielsen reported back
that the U of M could not design a fountain with our small budget and the high
schools are not equipped to design a fountain.
• Screening at Hamel Legion Park — The City Council requested that the Park
Commission come up with a design to screen the utilities at Hamel Legion Park.
The Park Commission made note of the various utilities: well #6 by the four-plex
ball fields, well #7 by the pavilions, well house and well #5 on Brockton, and the
power transformer next to the skating rink. They will take a good look at them
during their annual park tour and come up with a plan prior to updating the 2009
C.I.P.
b) Park Commissioner Vacancy — An update was given that the vacant Park
Commission position had been posted on the City's website and in the spring
newsletter with an application deadline of April30th
c) Spring Park Tour — The Park Commission requested the park tour be on a week night
early in May.
A motion was made by Ben Benson and seconded by Brian Kingsley to call a special
meeting on Wednesday, May 7th at 4:30 p.m. to conduct the annual Park Tour.
Motion Passed Unanimously.
d) Rose Dykhoff Memorial — Carolyn Smith suggested that the Park Commission do
some type of memorial in Rose Dykhoff s memory. A few ideas were discussed and
there was a general consensus to plant a native hardwood tree at Hamel Legion Park
in honor of Rose Dykhoff.
9) Adjourn
A motion was made by Ben Benson, seconded by Beth Nielsen and passed unanimously,
to adjourn the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Jodi Wunsch.