HomeMy Public PortalAbout11.20.2013 Park Commission MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes
November 20, 2013
Medina City Hall
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The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on November 20, 2013 at
7:00 p.m. in the Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Paul Jaeb presided.
1) Call to Order
Commissioners Present: Paul Jaeb, Ellis Olkon, Dino DesLauriers, Madeleine
Linck, Ann Thies, Janet White and Steve Lee
Commissioners Absent: None
Also Present: City Council member Melissa Martinson, Public Works
Director Steve Scherer and Assistant to City Administrator
Jodi Gallup
2) Additions to the Agenda: None.
3) Approval of Minutes:
• October 16, 2013 Regular Meeting
A motion was made by White and seconded by Lee, to approve the minutes from October
16, 2013 with no changes. Motion passed unanimously.
4) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): None.
5) City Council Update
Martinson updated the Park Commission on recent City Council actions.
6) Woods of Medina Preliminary Plat — Park Dedication Review
Gallup stated that JKP LLC has made an application for a rezoning and preliminary plat
to develop an approximately 9 acre site into 16 single family residential parcels. The site
is heavily wooded and located at Shawnee Woods Road and County Road 116. It is south
of the Reserve of Medina, across County Road 116 from Foxberry Farms, and north of
Medina Golf and County Club.
Gallup noted that access to the proposed subdivision would be from Poppy Trail in the
Reserve of Medina subdivision and the current Shawnee Woods Road access to County
Road 116 would be closed. It was also noted that the proposed subdivision would have
sidewalks on one side of the street.
Gallup stated that the applicant has requested a partial tree replacement waiver for
replacement trees due to the dense woods on the site, which is consistent with other
single family developments in the comprehensive plan. The Planning Commission
recommended partial relief on replacement, which will still require 1,635 inches of tree
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November 20, 2013
Medina City Hall
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replacement or equivalent cash contribution. It was noted that a possible solution for the
preserved trees could be to place an easement over the trees.
Thies noted that the Minnesota Land Trust would not hold a tree easement so it would
have to be a city held easement.
Linck questioned if the applicant could develop one less lot to preserve additional trees.
Scherer stated that the applicant probably would not meet density requirements with one
less lot.
Gallup stated that the City chose not to acquire parkland in this area during the Reserve
of Medina review. There are no active park facilities in the park plan for this area, but the
nearest park is greater than '/2 mile away. There are no trails in the trail plan for this site.
If the Park Commission recommended cash -in -lieu of park dedication it would be
estimated between $79,200 to $100,000 based on the final assessor's estimate of the land
value.
Scherer stated that he thought it might be a good idea to acquire an easement in Outlot A
for a possible future trail connection if the golf course ever developed.
A motion was made by Thies and seconded by Lee to recommend accepting cash -in -lieu
of park dedication with staff investigating acquiring a possible trail easement to connect
to the south. Motion passed unanimously.
7) D. R. Horton — Stage I Plan Review
Jaeb stated that the Park Commission reviewed the D.R. Horton concept plan at the last
meeting, but the Park Commission did not know the quality of the trees at the time. He
noted that Commissioner Linck and he took a site visit of the Cavanaugh woods. He
stated that the site had majestic views to the wetlands, a great canopy, mature trees, and it
seemed like the land had an existing turf trail.
Discussion took place on whether the woods should be protected and who should own it.
It was recommended that the woods should be owned by one property owner such as the
apaitment complex or commercial site, but should not be owned by a Homeowners
Association. It was noted that a 20-30 year covenant could be placed on the site to protect
the trees.
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A motion was made by Lee and seconded by DesLauriers to recommend the woods on the
subject site be wrapped into a tree preservation covenant and not require that park
dedication be charged on the protected woods. Motion passed unanimously.
8) Medina Park Master Plan — Review Dog Park Language
The Park Commission discussed the draft language to include dog parks into the Park
Master Plan. Olkon handed out his proposed changes for the Park Commission's review.
A motion was made by Thies and seconded by Olkon to accept the language for dog
parks in the plan with the following changes:
• Striking "there was enough public interest and"
• Striking "little cost" and replacing with "reasonable cost"
• Striking "In a commercial area or rural area away from private residents"
• Striking "the fence should have a division... " and replacing with "the fence may
have a division ... "
Linck suggested the following change:
• Striking "Predominately flat land with an open area"
The motion was passed unanimously with the amendment by Linck.
9) Park Signage Layouts
Jaeb stated that staff had been working with Vacker Signs to draft the proposed sign
layouts for the new message center signs at Hamel Legion Park, Hunter Lions Park, and
Lakeshore Park. The first draft of the sign layouts were handed out at the meeting for the
Park Commission's review. Jaeb felt the graphics were very rudimentary and requested
that we either work with a different company to design them or ask Vacker Signs to
update the graphics.
It was noted that it may not be necessary to include a site map of Lakeshore Park since it
is such a small park. Jaeb felt that all the parks should be uniform.
10) Staff Report
a) The Park at Fields of Medina — It was noted that the City Council approved the
concept plan for The Park at Fields of Medina, but Council member Martin had
asked staff to look into the possibility of adding a strip of grass between the
parking lot and the sidewalk.
b) Hamel Athletic Club (HAC) — Chair Jaeb and staff had met with HAC to discuss
future initiatives. HAC will likely be coming to a future meeting to propose ball
field improvements for 2014.
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c) Park Dedication Fund Balance & 2014 CIP — It was noted that at the beginning of
2013 the Park Dedication Fund Balance was $733,110.26 and it is currently up to
$1,609,177.40. Gallup went over the 2014 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) items
related to Parks. It was recommended increasing the dollar amount for The Park at
Fields of Medina from $20,000 to $200,000 to make sure we can complete this
park in 2014. It was noted that the developer will be constructing the trails,
parking lot, and $150,000 towards playground equipment. The city will need to
finish the park with sidewalks, picnic shelter(s), benches, and a sport court.
A motion was made by Linck and seconded by Olkon to recommend approval of
the 2014-2018 CIP. Motion passed unanimously.
d) General Items — White requested an article be put in the February/March Medina
Message Newsletter related to the development of The Park at Fields of Medina.
11) Adjourn
A motion was made by Olkon, seconded by Linck and passed unanimously, to adjourn the
meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup.