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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04.15.2015 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes April 15, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 1 of 3 The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on April 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Steve Lee presided. 1) Call to Order Commissioners Present: Steve Lee, Madeleine Linck, Lori Meehan, Robin Reid, John Jacob, Nate Pearson and Dino DesLauriers Commissioners Absent: None Also Present: City Council member Lorie Cousineau, Public Works Director Steve Scherer and Assistant to City Administrator Jodi Gallup 2) Additions to the Agenda: Blue Bird Trail Monitoring Program & Cleanup Day Handout A motion was made by Linck and seconded by Reid to add "Blue Bird Trail Monitoring Program" & "Cleanup Day Handout" to the agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 3) Approval of Minutes: • March 17, 2015 Special Meeting • March 18, 2015 Regular Meeting A motion was made by Linck and seconded by Jacob to approve the minutes from March 17, 2015 and March 18, 2015 as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 4) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None. 5) City Council Update Lorie Cousineau gave the Park Commission a brief update on City Council actions since the last time the Park Commission met. 6) Monarch Butterflies & Milkweed Mary Shimshock introduced herself to the Park Commission. She stated that she had addressed the City Council at their March 3rd meeting to ask that Medina becomes a community that encourages monarch habitats. She stated that the Monarch butterfly populations have declined as much as 90% in the past 20 years and one of the primary reasons for this decline is the decrease in milkweed plants. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the milkweed and it is the only source of food for the monarch caterpillar. Shimshock stated that she had worked with Gallup to get a story in the Medina Message Newsletter. She will also be at Medina's annual Spring Clean-up Day handing out bags of milkweed seeds and educational materials to residents. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes April 15, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 2 of 3 Shimshock stated that in Medina we have a greater opportunity than other suburbs with our beautiful and vast outdoor spaces to create corridors for the Monarchs. She asked the Park Commission if we can plant Milkweed and create these corridors within our city parks and nature areas. She stated that Milkweed helps more than just the Monarchs; it helps all pollinators such as bees too. Linck noted that the city has common Milkweed in many of our parks already including Rainwater Nature Area, Hunter Lions Park, Tomann Preserve, Holy Name Park, and even on the edges of Hamel Legion Park. She noted that it is important that the city's lawn care contractors are educated and do not mow, spray, or pull the milkweed. Linck asked that the city put an article on the website regarding going native to help teach residents that they do not need their entire lawns manicured like a golf course and the benefits to keeping some native areas. Shimshock suggested that the Park Commission could hold an event such as planting Milkweed in the parks, releasing Monarchs, and/or having a speaker from the U of M. There was a general consensus from the Park Commission in favor of creating Monarch corridors within our city and possibly holding an event. Meehan and Gallup will work with Shimshock to coordinate any details. 7) Blue Bird Trail Monitoring Program Linck stated that she had received 8 to 10 volunteers for the Blue Bird Trail monitoring program. She will be creating a buddy system as she doesn't have that many Blue Bird Houses to monitor. She will be training her volunteers this summer on how to keep records. 8) Handout at Cleanup Day Linck requested that the city handout brochures at our annual cleanup day on April 25th from Audubon Minnesota on bird safe homes and how to make your windows safer for birds. She stated that millions of birds are killed each year from flying into large picture windows. 9) The Park at Fields of Medina Gallup reported that the City Council awarded the contract for the site work at the Park at Fields of Medina to the low bid Sunram Construction at their April 7th meeting. The City Council approved the Sport Court purchase and allocated an additional $125,000 of Park Dedication funds to complete the remaining items of this park project. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes April 15, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 3 of 3 The Park Commission discussed the color options for the Sport Court. It was determined that the interior color would be Shamrock Green and the exterior color would be Earth. 10) Discuss Parks to Visit at Annual Park Tour in May The Park Commissioners discussed which parks to visit during their annual park tour on May 20, 2015 beginning at 5:30 p.m. It was determined to visit the following parks: • Hamel Legion Park — look at area of park by Inn Kahoots • Hunter Lions Park • Tomann Preserve • Medina Lake Preserve • Lakeshore Park 11) Staff Report • Staff showed the Park Commissioners pictures of the new dog waste signs and garbage receptacles that were installed at Hamel Legion Park. • Staff showed the Park Commissioners pictures of the newly surfaced tennis courts at Hamel Legion Park, noting that one of the courts is also striped for pickle ball. • Staff showed the Park Commissioners pictures of the new piece of fence and gate that the Hamel Hawks installed at the Paul Fortin Memorial Field. 12) Adjourn A motion was made by Meehan, seconded by DesLauriers and passed unanimously, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup.