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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10.17.2007 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2007 Medina City Hall Page 1 of 4 The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on October 17, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Ann Thies presided. I. Call to Order Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: Also present: Ben Benson, Bob Pastor, Ann Thies, Brian Kingsley, Gerry Dykhoff, Madeleine Linck and Galen Bruer None Jodi Wunsch, Steve Scherer, & Carolyn Smith II. Additions to the Agenda: None III. Approval of the Minutes from September 19, 2007: • Section 8: Linck said she would be good at offered to help showing the land owners... • Section 9: The Park Commission also requested that staff remind Sara Wyatt to look into allowing a zone for dog walking between Independence Beach and the Baker Park East trail system. • Section 10E: Gerry Dykhoff and Steve Scherer requested the Park Commissioners opinions on design ideas for the fountain. The Park Commissioners looked at Gerry Dykhoff's design ideas and gave their opinions • Section 5(p. 4):...concerned about curb and gutter in that location with its high velocity. A motion was made by Ben Benson and seconded by Madeleine Linck to approve the minutes as corrected above. Motion passed unanimously. IV. Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None V. Trail Study Park Commissioners began reviewing the 2003 Trail Study to update it by reevaluating trail priorities, surface types, and locations. Linck stated that the 2003 plan had too many paved trails. She felt that in certain locations it is important to keep trails natural like the Luce Line Trail. Linck questioned how much money the DNR spends to keep up the Luce Line Trail with limestone. Hwy 101— North of 55: This trail is mostly completed. Park Commissioners questioned if we were close in our cost estimates. Smith stated that we still need to work with the County to address the need of a pedestrian crossing. Hamel Road — Uptown Hamel to Pinto Drive: Keep this trail as a high priority. In the Uptown Hamel district, keep it as a sidewalk rather than an asphalt paved trail. Hunter Drive: This trail is mostly finished with a few properties missing that the city does not have a trail easement for. The Park Commission would like to see this trail Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2007 Medina City Hall Page 2 of 4 finished and take whatever means necessary to get the trail easements on the missing pieces. This trail will be kept as a high priority trail. Morningside Neighborhood Trail: Keep this trail a high priority. The City of Medina needs to get the City of Orono involved to have a trail on the west side of the neighborhood down to County Road 6. County Road 19 Trail: The regional trail plans have been completed and construction of the trail is in the works. The neighborhood connection portion of the trail from the edge of Baker Park beach property to Ardmore Avenue will not be completed along with the regional trail. Bruer stated that Mayor Crosby was going to talk to Penny Steele regarding a possible Bike Gap Fund to finish the connection. The Park Commission recommended making the neighborhood connection a turf trail. The portion of this trail from the beach to Lake Shore Avenue should also be moved to high priority. County Road 116 Trail: This trail should be moved to high priority, especially with all the development that is happening near County Road 116. The last piece of this trail needs to be finished. Park Commissioners questioned why the city has not used eminent domain to acquire the missing easements. Smith stated that the Council would consider taking those pieces if they were a really high priority and the Council received enough political pressure from neighbors which they have received through a petition. Hamel Road/County Road 115 Trail: This trail should me moved to a moderately low priority. This road has an existing off set shoulder that is gravel. Thies stated that we should keep at least one side of this road gravel. It was suggested to pave from Pinto to Arrowhead which would be more urban and not pave Arrowhead to County Road 19 to keep it more of a rural trail. Hunter Lions Park/Hamel Legion Park: This trail can stay as moderately high. It will happen when the development occurs. Medina Road: Half of this on road paved trail is finished from Tamarack to Hunter. The other half of the trail should be kept as a moderately -high priority. Tamarack Drive: This trail should be moved to moderately -low priority. Willow Drive (South of County Road 24 to County Medina Morningside): This portion of Will Drive will stay as a moderately -low priority. Willow Drive (Medina Morningside to County Road 6): This portion of the trail should be moved to high priority. It should be a sidewalk. The people are on the west side of the road, but there is more room on the east side of the road. There is also an existing utility easement on the east side of the road. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2007 Medina City Hall Page 3 of 4 VI. Comprehensive Plan Update Linck updated everyone on the advisory panel and planning commission's joint meeting. Thies stated that Tom Crosby and Liz Weir have done most of the fine tuning of the language in the Comprehensive Plan. Thies also stressed the importance of Park Commissioners being present at the upcoming Comprehensive Plan Open Houses at the community building on Thursday, October 25th and Saturday, October 27th. The Park Commissioners should be available at the open houses to describe or explain proposed active park areas and trails and ask for the public's opinion. VII. Staff Report a) Rainwater Nature Area — Scherer updated the Park Commission on the request for Ryan Companies to remove the excess dirt at Rainwater nature area. Ryan Companies has no need for the dirt and will not remove it without compensation. Scherer is still looking into additional options. Wunsch requested direction from the Park Commission on whether they wanted to keep the name Rainwater Nature Area or change it to Rainwater Natural Area because it has been recently referred to with both names There was a general consensus to keep the name Rainwater Nature area because the land is not a natural area. b) Medina Road Trail — An update was given that the road had been repaved with an on road trail on the south side of the road from Tamarack to Hunter Drive. Linck and Thies both inquired about the striping, because without it the road looks too wide. Scherer said it will be stripped as soon as they have a nice day. Benson suggested painting bicycle and/or hiker symbols on the on road paved trail to differentiate it from the lanes for vehicles. c) Hamel Legion Park Improvements — The base for the basketball court is finished. The storm pipe and storm tile has been installed under the playground area. The curb will not be installed until it stops raining. The playground equipment should be delivered within the next week, but the curb needs to be complete first. d) Fountain at Entrance Plaza— Additional fountain ideas were shown on a PowerPoint. Kingsley stated that the fountain needed to better connect with the rest of the park features. Dykhoff said that granite would match the memorial plaque, but the idea he showed at the last meeting was too plain. Benson liked the base that Dykhoff was proposing with stone and a waterless pond. Bruer thought it was important making this fountain substantial since it will be at the entrance of our main park. A subcommittee was formed to continue searching for design ideas for this fountain consisting of Dykhoff, Bruer, and Kingsley. e) County Road 19 Trail — Staff sent a letter to Hennepin County requesting the federal design variance to allow for a 4-foot continuous path from Ardmore Avenue to the beach at Baker Park. At the time of the meeting, the city had not heard back from the County, but trees were already beginning to be cleared for the trail. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2007 Medina City Hall Page 4 of 4 f) Reschedule November Meeting— The third Wednesday in November falls on November 20, which is the night before Thanksgiving. Park Commissioners discussed alternative dates and decided on the 4th Wednesday of the month. A motion was made by Galen Bruer, seconded by Bob Pastor and passed unanimously to change the Park Commission November meeting to Wednesday, November 28th at 7.•00 p.m. XI. Adjournment A motion was made by Galen Bruer, seconded by Gerry Dykhoff and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jodi Wunsch