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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09.17.2008 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2008 Medina City Hall Page 1 of 5 The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on September 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Medina City Hall. Park Commission Vice Chair Ben Benson presided. 1) Call to Order Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: Also present: Ben Benson, Peter Lecy, Madeleine Linck, Beth Nielsen and Ann Thies (arrived 7:05 p.m.) Galen Bruer and Brian Kingsley Jodi Gallup, Steve Scherer, and Kim Ann 2) Additions to the Agenda: None 3) Approval of the Minutes • August 20, 2008 Special Meeting A motion was made by Madeleine Linck and seconded by Peter Lecy to approve the minutes, correcting the list of Commissioners present. Motion passed unanimously. • August 20, 2008 Regular Meeting Pg. 3, par. 7: Add language regarding the discussion on the responsibility to clean the bathrooms in the proposed concession stand. Pg. 3, par. 8: The word collaborate should be replaced with compile. Pg. 3, par. 9: ..."Saturday Morning Bird Watel} Walks". A motion was made by Ben Benson and seconded by Beth Nielsen to approve the minutes with the noted changes. Motion passed unanimously. 4) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None 5) Recreation Subcommittee's Feasibility Study Kim Ann presented the current situation and the three scenarios of the Recreation Subcommittee's feasibility study. Scenario A would be to build the concession stand without knowing how it will be managed and operated and with out having any past financial records. Scenario B would be to use the existing building or the Hamel Lions trailer to run concessions. This option would allow an organization to firmly establish a structure for staffing, volunteers, ordering, food preparations, and record keeping. Scenario C would involve expanding the selection of management groups to nearby organizations such as Orono or Plymouth/Wayzata ball programs. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2008 Medina City Hall Page 2 of 5 Kim Ann also stated the City of Medina does need a firm commitment of who will operate the concessions by December 1, 2008. The City will also require concise book keeping from the operating organization. The creation of an operations/management plan is crucial to getting the concession stand built. Linck questioned why concessions were not done during the 2008 season? John Kastner stated that management of the Hamel Ball Association had switched from the past president to him and he ran out of time to get concessions organized. He stated that by the time he reorganized everything and got the contract and scheduling figured out, they were already into the season. By the time he would have got concessions organized the season would have been almost over. Nielsen stated that she has not seen a large response from the public in wanting a concession stand. She questioned how many residents want a concession stand? Kim Ann stated that she did a survey at the park one night and had a high response rate of people interested in having concessions. Linck stated she did not think the City should rush into building a fancy building without first getting concrete numbers. Ben Benson questioned if the concession stand is a profit maker? Bob Pastor, past Park Commissioner and Medina resident, stated that the revenue would off set the costs, but it is not a cash cow. He stated that he has been involved in working concessions and it is a great time to bond with other families in the program. Pastor also stated that concession will help the fields come alive, followed by lights. He supports the construction of the concession stand as long as someone will manage it. Lecy stated that he agreed with Pastor's comments. He also stated that the City has committed to building the concession stand in the Capital Improvement Plan. He has also seen the commitment from the community and that is why the Park Commission is proactively working on flushing through all the details to see what makes sense. Lecy stated that other cities either have Park and Recreation Departments or Athletic Associations that manage concession buildings. The City does not have a Park and Recreation Department, but has seen interest from the Hamel Lions, Hamel Athletic Association, and the Hamel Fire Department. The tax payers of the community still want to know what it will cost the City to manage this facility. Thies stated that the bottom line is to recommend using the existing facility or a trailer for the 2009 season to get a financial operations report. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2008 Medina City Hall Page 3 of 5 Linck questioned how many people use the fields on weekends? Gallup stated that it is difficult to use the fields for weekend tournaments right now because the City does not have a field rental policy in place. Every time an organization wants to use the fields they need to go through contract negotiations and get it approved by the City Council. The 2008 season had three weekend tournaments. Gerry Dykhoff asked to speak to Beth Nielsen's comment about public interest in building a concession stand. He stated that $95,000 has been fund raised to build a new concession building. He stated that they had been working on trying to get this built since 2002 and he feels that a number of people have given up hope. Thies stated that the Subcommittee was encouraged when they received the letter from the Hamel Lions. She asked Tom Dykhoff if he would like to speak to it. Tom Dykhoff, representing the Hamel Lions, stated that they would commit to being the go to organization for running the concession building. He also reminded everyone that the concessions were just a small portion of the buildings uses. This building would be a multi -purpose facility, primarily storage and decent bathrooms. The building would also be a future electrical hub for lights and possibly a future water supply to irrigate the fields. Tom Dykhoff stated that using the existing building for another year would be a challenge as it does not meet health code. Scherer suggested building two buildings; one for concessions and one for storage. Scherer stated it would be cheaper to build a separate storage building, but Tom Dykhoff disagreed with him. Tom Dykhoff asked the Park Commission if they were satisfied with the current storage facilities at the ball fields. The Park Commission was unsure of the need or use of the current buildings. Scherer stated that the City does not have anything stored in the current buildings. Thies stated that everything that has been discussed all comes back to operations and maintenance of the proposed concession building. The next step is to have Kim Ann finish gathering financial information and bring back a report to the sub -committee prior to the next Park Commission meeting. At the October Park Commission meeting a recommendation will be made to be presented to the Council at the October 21st Council meeting. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2008 Medina City Hall Page 4 of 5 6) Medina Celebration Day Jodi Gallup asked the Park Commission if anyone was interested in volunteering at Medina Celebration Day on Saturday, September 27th. The event committee is looking for help with set-up and tear -down. Ben Benson and Madeleine Linck volunteered. Gallup also asked the Park Commission if they would be interested in displaying any projects at the City's booth and if anyone wanted to help work the booth. Benson suggested a presentation be done recognizing all the dedications that have been made to our parks. He stated that many residents have gone above and beyond and deserve recognition for their donations to the park including benches, tables, a fountain, and tree. Linck requested that the City bring park brochures and a parks map. Thies suggested printing out the slides from the recreation open house last month. Nielsen requested that the City print name tags for the Park Commissioners that will be in attendance. Benson, Nielsen, and Linck all volunteered to take shifts at the booth if necessary. 7) Staff Report a) Holy Name Park: Steve Scherer showed the Park Commission updated pictures of the Holy Name Park project. The installation of the pervious pavers and pervious concrete has been completed. The rain garden has been planted and the trail is complete. The project is almost complete; the park still needs signage and black top for the driveway. b) Rain Water Nature Area: Scherer gave a quick update on progress made at Rain Water Nature Area, stating that the sidewalk will be paved within the next few weeks. c) Beach at Lakeshore Park: Scherer updated the Park Commission that staff did not find an existing agreement with anyone regarding the maintaining of Lakeshore Park as a swimming beach. Staff recommended that residents use the beach down the road at Baker Park as a swimming beach. The Public Works department does not have staff to regularly rake the weeds. Benson commented that the beach is probably not safe as is and would need to be delineated and a swimming area would need to be roped off. There would be additional liability to have a non -guarded swimming beach. d) County Road 19 Trail: Scherer stated that work has begun on the trail in Baker Park from Maple Street to the Three Rivers Park District maintenance shop. Trees have Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2008 Medina City Hall Page 5 of 5 been removed and it was reported that the boardwalk would be finished before the spring frog crossing. e) Other General Updates: Scherer stated that he just came from a resident's home on County Road 116 trying to negotiate an easement for the County Road 116 trail. 9) Adjourn A motion was made by Ben Benson, seconded by Peter Lecy and passed unanimously, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup.