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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06.17.2015 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes June 17, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 1 of 5 The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on June 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Steve Lee presided. 1) Call to Order Commissioners Present: Commissioners Absent: Also Present: Steve Lee, Madeleine Linck, Lori Meehan, Robin Reid, John Jacob and Dino DesLauriers Nate Pearson City Council member Lorie Cousineau, Public Works Director Steve Scherer and Assistant to City Administrator Jodi Gallup 2) Additions to the Agenda: None 3) Approval of Minutes: • April 15, 2015 Regular Meeting A motion was made by Reid and seconded by DesLauriers to approve the minutes from April 15, 2015 as presented. Motion passed unanimously. • May 20, 2015 Regular Meeting A motion was made by DesLauriers and seconded by Jacob to approve the minutes from May 20, 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. She mentioned the Mayor would like to see soccer nets in the City. It was noted that staff recently purchased soccer nets and will be setting them up at Medina Morningside Park. 6) Community Garden Request Gallup stated that Council member Martin had received some inquiries about the possibility of a community garden in Medina given that lot sizes in the newer neighborhoods are smaller. There was a general consensus from the Park Commission that they would more seriously consider a community garden if an organized group approached the city with identified space for a community garden. 7) Bull Pen Request Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes June 17, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 2 of 5 It was noted that the Hamel Hawks had requested adding a bull pen along the fence line at the Paul Fortin Memorial Field. They presented to the Park Commission during the May Park Tour and the Park Commission had requested copies of their drawings and pictures to further consider their request. The Hamel Hawks indicated to staff that they would provide the fencing and labor, but had asked the city to provide the clay for the mound. The Park Commission discussed the location and was concerned with the proximately to the dirt access road that could be widened and paved for business access in the future. There was a general consensus to wait on making a decision on adding a permanent bull pen until a grand plan has been created for that corner of the park. The Park Commission suggested allowing the Hamel Hawks to set up a temporary bull pen for the remainder of the season until a plan was created. It was noted that the Park Commission should revisit the city's cost sharing policy for baseball items. 8) Monarch & Milkweed Presentation & Tour Follow-up Gallup reported that she had visited the City of Medina's nature areas with resident Mary Shimshock and Wendy Caldwell with the Monarch Joint Venture on June loth to determine the best locations to plant milkweed and other diverse nectar sources for the Monarch caterpillars and butterflies. She noted the following findings from each site: • Tomann Preserve — This site has too many tall grasses that will eventually kill off the milkweed unless a complete prairie restoration was done on the site, which would be very costly. This site also has too many trees and will become very wooded in the next 20 years so it isn't an ideal location in the long term. One benefit to planting at this location would be the connectivity to other nature areas/habitats. • Medina Lake Preserve — This location has beautiful prairie areas away from the woods that would be ideal for planting milkweed and diverse nectar sources. This site also provides connectivity to other nature areas/habitats. • Rainwater Nature Area — This site is small, but could provide a small butterfly garden area which would be more accessible to the public than the other sites. • Hunter Lions Park — The back nature area at this park is a beautiful prairie and would be ideal for planting milkweed and other diverse nectar sources. The city does need to clear the path to make the area more accessible. Linck noted that she had attended Wendy Caldwell's presentation and afterwards was talking with her outside City Hall. While they were talking, they thought the front lawn Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes June 17, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 3 of 5 of City Hall would be a great place to plant a butterfly garden as a demonstration area to educate the public. The Park Commission discussed the various sites and directed Gallup and Linck to get a better handle on the costs to plant and maintain these sites before making any recommendations. The question was asked what the Park Commission's goal is for this project. Is the goal to plant and mainly help the Monarchs or to plant, help the Monarchs and educate the public? 9) May Park Tour Follow-up Discussion Lee noted that the Public Works Department has already addressed many of the maintenance items from the Park Tour so those items do not need to be revisited. The following items were discussed: • Hamel Legion Park o The fence needs to be straightened. • Hunter Lions Park o Clean up volleyball court and see if anyone uses it after it is in better shape; if no one continues to use it, the Park Commission will revisit ideas for this area in the fall. o Clean up weeds behind backstop. o Instead of replacing the short fence, look into adding yellow fence covers. o No need for concrete under the bleachers at this park. o Move the Hamel Lion's park sign to a safer location at the back of center field. • Maple Park o Discussed adding a picnic shelter at the bottom of the hill; decided to wait until after the Eagle Scout project is complete at Holy Name Park to see how the project goes. o Discussed leaving the parking lot as gravel and not consider adding stairs down the hill until after a future picnic shelter is installed. o Determined not to invest in the baseball field. o Determined that an intergenerational park is a great concept, but not at this location; would like to get more information from Pearson when he returns. • Lakeshore Park o Add stone steps down to the boat launch to a future C.I.P. o Determined an outdoor workout area does not make sense. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes June 17, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 4 of 5 o Add horseshoe pits, but not a fire pit. o Move a grill and picnic table from Hunter Lions Park to Lakeshore Park. • Medina Morningside o Install soccer nets. o Add fixing playground curbing to the C.I.P. • Medina Lake Preserve o Noted it may be a Monarch area. • Tomann Preserve o Noted that one area along the trail is overgrown • Rainwater Nature Area o Noted that a bridge along the road will be installed when the property to the west develops. o Noted that the railroad ties need to be cleaned up. 10) 2016 Capital Improvement Plan The Park Commission reviewed the current Capital Improvement Plan. The following amendments were recommended to the 2016-2020 Capital Improvement Plan: • Move Arrowhead Trail out to 2017 • Add $20,000 to small equipment for each year • Add portion of Brush Hog to large equipment parks budget • Add $75,000 for parking lot clean-up at Hamel Legion Park • Remove scoreboards and irrigation system from plan • Look into pricing and options for dugout covers on the quad fields • Remove Hunter Lions Park bathroom • Move play mats at Hunter Lions Park forward • Add line item for fixing curbing at Medina Morningside Park • Add line item for stone steps down to boat launch at Lakeshore Park • Remove hockey rink from the plan • Add line item for snow machine at Hamel Legion Park • Add line item for new park land by the Medina Golf and Country Club • Spend more time reviewing trails at the July meeting Lee noted that according to our master plan, we will spend approximately $18,512,016.21 to build out everything in the plan, but our total revenue in Park Dedication will only be $14,740,400 when the entire city is built out. This is a reminder that we need to be good stewards of the city's funds and prioritize significant items verses wish list items. 11) Staff Report Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes June 17, 2015 Medina City Hall Page 5 of 5 • Scherer reported that the contractor had started working on the Park at Fields of Medina and the retaining wall was being installed. 12) Adjourn A motion was made by DesLauriers, seconded by Jacob and passed unanimously, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup.